Art & Artists of the Wollombi & Hunter Valleys
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ART & ARTISTS OF THE WOLLOMBI & HUNTER VALLEYS SEPTEMBER 16-18, 2020 TOUR LEADER: DR NICK GORDON TOUR MANAGER & COVID WARDEN: ROBERT VEEL Paul Selwood’s idyllic sculpture park ART & ARTISTS OF Overview THE WOLLOMBI & Enjoy a two-day excursion, which takes you to the studios of four leading HUNTER VALLEYS Australian artists working in the Wollombi and Hunter Valleys north of Sydney and surveys the significant collections of two public galleries. There is also the chance to sample the food and wine of the region and to Tour dates: September 16-18, 2020 enjoy fine landscapes in the height of spring. Tour leader: Dr Nick Gordon Along the Wollombi Valley runs the old convict-built Great North Road leading from Sydney to the Hunter Valley. For decades the area has been Tour Manager & COVID Warden: Robert Veel a mecca for artists and wine growers. Here we visit the private sculpture park and studios of Paul Selwood, one of Australia’s leading sculptors before heading to Pokolbin to dine and stay in the heart of the Hunter Tour Price: $1,480 per person, twin share wine region. Single Supplement: $210 for sole use of Our exploration of the Hunter includes the impressive Maitland Regional double room Art Gallery, which has a number of interesting shows at the time of our visit. In the industrial suburbs to the west of the Newcastle CBD we Maximum places: 20 encounter the studios or a number of working artists, including sculptor Braddon Snape and painters Lottie Consalvo and James Drinkwater. We also call in at the Newcastle Art Gallery, well known for its collection Itinerary: Pokolbin (1 night) of Sydney Modernist paintings, before returning to Sydney. Date published: September 5, 2020 Tour Highlights Studio visits to four leading Australian artists, two established and two upcoming: Lottie Consalvo, James Drinkwater, Paul Selwood and Braddon Snape Visits to the two first-rate public galleries of the region at Maitland and Newcastle Accommodation and degustation dinner in the heart of the Hunter wine growing region The scenery of the Wollombi Valley and the Broken Back Range Preparatory Zoom meeting, Q&A with artists, expert commentary from an art historian and practising artist Your tour leader Dr Nick Gordon holds a University Medal and PhD in History from the University of Sydney, and has taught at Australian universities for 10 years. He has presented numerous popular art history courses at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Continuing Education, and is a regular speaker in the Nicholson Museum’s public Enquiries lecture series. and bookings Nick’s academic expertise is complemented by the specialised knowledge he has gained as a practicing artist, and he brings these insights to the art For further information and to enjoyed throughout this tour. secure a place on this tour please contact Hannah Nick has been leading tours for Academy Travel since 2007. Kleboe at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email [email protected]. au COVID Safety on tour We have instituted the following measures as part of our COVID Safety plan. These measures include: Maximum numbers. There is a maximum number of 19 enrolled participants, plus the tour leader. Physical distancing. During site visits a distance of 1.5 metres will be maintained between people. For private transport between sites, we are using a 50-seat coach with a maximum number of 20 passengers. This is within NSW Government recommendations for travel on coaches and buses. Encouraging good hand hygiene. Hand sanitiser will be provided for use throughout the tour and face masks will be available for optional use. We are working with COVID-Safe registered businesses and suppliers. A COVID-safe business has a COVID-Safe plan approved by the NSW Government. Picnic lunch is served as individual servings We will keep a record of your name and contact number securely for 28 days after the event, as required by NSW law. An Academy Travel COVID-Safe hygiene marshal will be present at all venues to ensure that our COVID Safety plan is implemented. We have also modified our terms and conditions as follows: Academy Travel reserves the right to exclude any person or persons from group activities on the tour if they display symptoms of COVID-19. Academy Travel reserves the right to exclude a person from group activities if he or she refuses to comply with reasonable requests to maintain physical distancing. By attending the tour you confirm that you have not been in Victoria or other hotspots listed by State or Territory health departments as in the 14 days prior to the tour. By attending the tour you confirm that you are not required by law to self isolate, or have not been recommended to undertake voluntary self-isolation, or are required to be in quarantine. Tour manager & COVID Warden Robert Veel is a founding director of Academy Travel and has undertaken all the research for this excursion. Robert will be travelling in a separate vehicle in case anyone needs to leave the group, but will be present at all activities. Image top to bottom: sculptor Paul Selwood; director of the Creator Incubator and sculptor Braddon Snape; upcoming painter James Drinkwater and artist Lottie Consalvo Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the letters B, L and D. Wednesday September 16 Zoom meeting 6.30pm Introductory Zoom meeting with tour manager Robert Veel and tour leader Dr Nick Gordon. Thursday September 17 Wollombi and Pokolbin At 9.00am enjoy a coffee at Wynyard in the Sydney CBD before heading north to Wollombi. After lunch at Myrtle House and a chance to explore the historic Wollombi Village we head to Payne’s crossing, where sculptor Paul Selwood has created an idyllic sculpture park. His career spans over four decades and his work is represented in public collections around Australia and internationally. Paul leads our stroll through the park in person, surveying his career and explaining his works. The visit ends with Paul’s studios, where we can appreciate the complex process of production and see what Paul is working on right now. We continue up the pretty Wollombi Valley to Broke, and then across to Pokolbin. Our accommodation is at Estate Tuscany, whose apartment-style suites overlook the vineyards and the Broken Back Range. We gather for drinks at dusk, when kangaroos roam freely around the property, and then head to The Mill restaurant for a degustation menu with matching Hunter wines. Overnight Estate Tuscany, Pokolbin. (L, D) Friday September 18 Artists of Newcastle This morning we head across the Hunter Valley to the Maitland Regional Art Gallery. This impressive institution is one of Australia’s largest regional galleries, with a constantly rotating and well-curated selection of exhibitions. A museum guide will show us two exhibitions – the ‘Elliot Eyes’ private collection from Sydney and a selection of the gallery’s permanent collection of portraits, with works by many notable Australian painters. We then head to the Creator Incubator in Hamilton, a suburb of Newcastle. This re-purposed factory contains 34 artists’ studios. We visit the sizable sculpture workshop of Braddon Snape. Snape’s public sculptures can be seen all over Australia as well as in Korea, the UK, China and the USA. He lectures at the University of Newcastle and is director of the Creator Incubator. After a picnic lunch in a nearby park we visit the adjacent studios of upcoming painter James Drinkwater and artist Lottie Consalvo, who works in diverse media. James’ works are to be found in collections in New York, Singapore, Germany and the UK, and in 2014 he won the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship. Our final stop is the Newcastle Art Gallery, well known for its collection of Sydney Modernist paintings. At the Images left: Paul Selwood’s private sculpture park and studios time of our visit there will be an exhibition of some of these works. Titled The Roaring 20’s, it includes paintings by Rupert Bunny, George W Lambert, Lionel Lindsay, Hilda Rix Nicholas, Thea Proctor and James Quinn. Also showing is the Killgour Prize, Newcastle's annual $50,000 art prize for figurative and portrait painting. Like the Archibald Prize in Sydney, the Killgour contains works which will both please and surprise, though not necessarily at the same time. We return to Sydney in the late afternoon, arriving at around 7.30pm. (B, L) Accommodation The Estate Tuscany is a well-established property in Pokolbin, enjoying an excellent situation among the vineyards. The spacious rooms have individual entries and look over the fields and vineyards. Adjacent to the accommodation is the award- winning Mill restaurant. estatetuscany.com.au Tour Price The tour price is $1,480 per person, twin share (land content only). The supplement for a single room is $210 per person. Tour Inclusions Included in the tour price One-night accommodation at The Estate Tuscany Breakfast, dinner and two picnic lunches Land travel by air-conditioned coach Background talk via Zoom Services of Australian tour leader throughout tour All entrance fees to sites mentioned on itinerary Not included Travel to and from the starting point of the tour Meals not mentioned in itinerary Expenses of a personal nature Images right: Braddon Snape, Three Movements in Green, 2020 [welded and inflated stainless steel with custom Urethane coating, 210 x 90 x 48cm] image courtesy: Braddon Snape and Nanda\Hobbs; James Drinkwater, The Publican, 2020 [oil on linen, 109.5 x 83cm] image courtesy: James Drinkwater and Nanda\Hobbs Booking form Terms & Conditions DEPOSITS conditions, technical or maintenance at least six months after your planned A deposit is required to confirm your problems with transport, changes imposed return to your country of residence.