RAW Sensory: a creative feast for the senses

Posted on 28 May, 2015

What are your plans this Friday night? Whatever they are, you need to change them!

Belconnen Arts Centre (BAC) will host RAW Canberra’s Sensory showcase featuring around 30 local emerging artists who will display their work in BAC’s galleries, dance studio, workshop, foyer and meeting room spaces.

The third of six showcases run throughout the calendar year in Canberra and other cities across the country, RAW Australia Executive Director, Kristen Wehlow, says Canberra artists have a lot to offer.

“Canberra has its own unique and passionate creative community. There is an extremely diverse range of creative talent in this city that has a very independent and strong voice and is bound by a real sense of community,” she says.

Sarina Del Fuego started RAW Canberra in 2013 and although she has since moved on from RAW, Kristen says she is proud of how it has developed and grown in our city.

“Artists are taking hold of the concept and pushing their ideas further knowing they can use these showcases to present something truly unique. The public are attending in droves knowing that RAW showcases are the place to see and experience the true heart of Canberra’s emerging creatives outside of more traditional constraints.”

Sensory is far from a typical, conservative art show; it’s “a creative explosion!”.

Says Kristen, “This is a celebration of Canberra’s emerging creatives where every artist is a headliner and where creative freedom reigns supreme. Come for the photography and be wowed by hair on the runway, support your friend’s band and end up buying a painting. We don’t put creative talent in boxes, we put creative minds together in the spotlight.”

RAW is all about uncovering and supporting emerging artists, and showcases like Sensory give the rest of us the opportunity to see their work.

But it’s “being able to bring Canberra’s best emerging creatives out of their bedrooms and studios and into the public eye” that Kristen loves most.

“To see a diverse crowd interact with artists from all genres and be able to convey their appreciation directly to the artists with whom they may never have had contact otherwise. To see hundreds of people lining up and excited about coming to an ‘art show’ where there is no one headliner or big draw card is fantastic,” she says.

Featured artists for this Friday’s event include Subsdance dance and entertainment, Evolved: Art by Dan Taylor, fashion accessories from Sparkles by Viv, makeup artist Meg Stewart, and music by indie rock band Novia Scotia…just to name a few. To discover the full list of exhibiting artists head to RAW Artists.

It’s exciting to see cultural events take place outside the city centre and after a childhood spent growing up in Florey it will be nice to finally enjoy some adult-friendly* fun in Belconnen this Friday night.

Food and alcohol will also be available for purchase, however note that this service is cash only. 

*This is an 18+ only event.

The essentials

What: RAW Canberra presents Sensory
When: 7.30pm-11.45pm Friday May 29
Where: Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen
How much: $16.50(+bf) online or $20 on the door