It's a big deal getting the tap on the shoulder for your first exhibition, and Ballarat artist Christopher Risk couldn't be more stoked.
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"It's surreal, absolutely surreal - I love going to art galleries and museums, seeing people's work, but when I got the email back saying I was accepted, it was unreal," he said.
The City of Ballarat selected Mr Risk's 2021 collection Ouchies to be shown at the outdoor Unicorn Gallery on Sturt Street until February 28, a high-exposure area.
Ouchies is Mr Risk's response to the pandemic - he began making little clay miniatures of his friends for a laugh when lockdown set in, but kept coming back as lockdowns continued.
"Many people did something creative, something they haven't done," he said.
"I was always into action figures and collectibles growing up - just as the first lockdowns happened, I was sitting at home, I thought I'd mess around a bit.
"My friend asked for a sculpture, just anything, so I made a little purple guy, that was Ouchie, and the rest flowed on."
"Even to this day, I'm just experimenting with making stuff, it's really fun, and that's the most important part about it - it's therapeutic in a way, I'll make a couple of sculptures but if they don't work, it's fun to problem solve."
He encouraged other young artists to keep trying - he initially applied to be part of a separate art gallery exhibition, and was knocked back.
"Just keep doing it, if you're doing something, and have fun with it - once it stops becoming fun, there's not much point in making art I feel," he said.
"If I had a dollar for everything creative I started and didn't finish I'd be living around the lake right now."
Also in Ballarat, the CharisArt Group is presenting its exhibition Entangled at Art Space Ballarat, 14 Lydiard Street, until March 9.
CharisArt includes six local artists who support and nourish each other's art while working in different mediums. Each artist creates contemporary art works while using traditional techniques passed on from generations of women before them, according to the City of Ballarat.
In Entangled, the artists unravel the complexities of human connections and entangled existence into a unifying collection of works. The art works include large-scale installation pieces, sculptural works and 2D wall pieces, each exploring a connection with traditional fibre-based craft in an innovative and challenging way.
Artists include Sylvia Aguirre, Robyn Barnett, Kate Both, Susan Cabassi, Marcia King and Deb Sonenberg.
Entangled is open 11am to 5pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
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