A rather bright BLAC Friday

A rather bright BLAC Friday
By Tracey Lien

There are many reasons why people find art galleries and the concept of 'fine art' intimidating. For some, the galleries themselves can come across as being too posh and sterile, the artworks costing more than limbs, and the exhibitions only coming by so often that we feel that they're too precious to be enjoyed. BLAC Friday challenges all of this.

The brainchild of practising artist, David Hooper, BLAC Friday is the burst of fresh air that the art scene needed; vibrant and fast paced, yet accessible, engaging, and down to earth. It is both an event and an exhibition that occurs regularly, which gives local artists the opportunity to exhibit their work, the public the chance to view and appreciate their masterpieces, and the community a chance to embrace art as something not to be intimidated by, but enjoyed.

Hooper, who is also the curator of the show, expressed his frustration at the way that athletes and musicians were able to perform regularly but visual artists were unable to exhibit as often.

 “Why is there no similar practice for visual artists?” Hooper asked. “Why are we as a creative genre restricted from reaching our potential – creatively and professionally – by such outdated, stifling, and truncated professional conduct paradigms? Why are local independent artists not fostered? Why are our best and brightest young talents left on the vine to wither?

“I was determined to do something about the dismal state of affairs, hence, our weekly BLAC Fridays,” he said.

And so BLAC Fridays was born and kicked off to a wonderful start. Local artists jumped on board, laid back exhibition spaces were found, a team of supporters came to aid, one-of-a-kind pieces were made and sold to the public at irresistible prices, and Hooper's vision began to come to fruition.

“The exhibitions are for all of us: artists, consumers, and the public. Our goal is to provide a comfortable, relaxed, creative and friendly environment to share our work with our society; none of the stuck up, clinical and elitist $%#@ that passes for galleries these days,” he said.

“In the final analysis, artists are the source of much of the richness of our cultural identity and definitely the source of the wealth flowing through commercial galleries, and yet, artists are a sub sector of society. They seem to be in an almost universally wretched financial position due to the posturing and inflated self-aggrandizement of the commercial gallery monopoly.

“[We want to] defeat the entrenched profiteers strangling the life from our artistic community and alter the status quo in the favour of the talented and creative progenitors in our society.”

That's something we can certainly support.