A heritage town with art ambitions

ARTISTS NOW IN RESIDENCE… Picture framer, Damien Grigg and photographer, Helen Grigg. Photo Steve Hutcheson
ARTISTS NOW IN RESIDENCE… Picture framer, Damien Grigg and photographer, Helen Grigg. Photo Steve Hutcheson

The township of Rushworth enjoys a long history with many distinctive heritage buildings located throughout the town. High Street, one of the few in Victoria, is classified by the National Trust for its collection of well preserved buildings and facades.

Situated just off the main street is the old council depot. A couple of old buildings whose custody has now been given over to the nearby Rushworth Community House with the aim to build it up as an artist’s enclave with future ambitions to make the adjacent old Court House into an art gallery.

The sheds already house the Rushworth Men’s Shed while the additional building is being subdivided into a space for a small number of artists in residence, a coterie that already includes an art photographer, a painter, a picture framer and a writer.

Chairman of the Rushworth Community House, Eloise Mitchell is enthusiastic about the project. “We are beginning to run some of our course sessions here. We recently did a basket weaving course here and we had a great turnout from the town.’

The location of the Community House project is quite central in this small rural town making access that much easier. Without seeking to necessarily become a tourist mecca, the art depot project is aiming to serve the needs of the townsfolk as its primary focus.