Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre and St Heliers Correctional Centre have partnered to provide a continuous space for the display of work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inmates taking part in St Heliers’ Gundi Program.
The highly successful Gundi Program was initiated at St Heliers Correctional Centre in 2011. The word gundi has a broad meaning for shelter, befitting of a program designed to shelter inmates by supporting them to strengthen their experience of culture, gain vocational skills and employment, and re-establish their lives once they leave custody.
Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre has hosted numerous exhibitions from the program since its inception and is pleased to now present the work on a continuing basis in the gallery shop alongside the work of other local artists.
"The gallery has long supported local artists through collecting work, exhibition, art prizes and a dedicated retail space," gallery director Elissa Emerson said.
Gallery director Elissa Emerson"We are pleased to expand this support by including work generated in the Gundi Program to our gallery shop. By purchasing an item, buyers will also be supporting the artists and the important work achieved by the Gundi Program," she said.
St Heliers Correctional Centre Governor Louise Smith said the Gundi program provided inmates with an opportunity to gain skills, so they have the best shot at leading a successful post-release life.
St Heliers Correctional Centre Governor Louise Smith"These programs help break the cycle of re-offending – when inmates leave custody with new skills, they have the best chance of becoming employed, turning their lives around for the good and making a positive contribution back into our communities," Ms Smith said.
In recognition of the renewed, and now continuing, partnership between Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre and St Heliers Correctional Centre, seven recent works from the Gundi Program will be included in the exhibition Message Stick: Works by First Nations Artists opening 6 May 2023.
The works will be available for purchase and can be seen online here:
