Twice as Big as Texas
Hold on to your [cowboy] hats, as a Top End favourite makes a very welcome return.
By Tierney Seccull
Don Whyte Framing’s Off Cuts is back for its 10th anniversary (for the fourth or fifth time, details shmetails!) in an effort to raise some coin to tip back into the community.
The art exhibition fundraiser, which has become a true highlight on the annual Top End arts calendar, started when a small mix up at Don Whyte’s framing business left him with a surplus of canvas off cuts.
“We made a mistake, and so we made little canvasses up and gave them to local artists, and decided to sell them for charity,” Don says.
After taking a forced break for a few years due to pandemic reasons, this month’s fundraising exhibition is the first since 2019. The theme for 2023 is Twice as Big as Texas, and we asked Don what inspired it.
“Well, I was Googling the landmass of the Northern Territory and then I thought ‘I wonder how big Texas is?’. I found out that we were twice as big as Texas,” he says.
“We’ve got about 250,000 people in the Territory, but they’ve got something like 30 million. So we are twice as big as Texas with just a fraction of the population. Wild.”
Regardless of where theme inspo comes each year, Off Cuts is a guaranteed good time for artists, arts lovers and community-minded folk.
Using canvas off-cuts that would otherwise end up in the bin, it gives artists near and far the chance to submit an artwork responding to the theme. The artworks are then auctioned off at the opening night event in Don’s Coconut Grove shop, with all proceeds going to a good cause. This year, Don’s got some exciting plans for the dosh.
“We usually give to local organisations … but this year, we are going to sponsor some of the artist payments for NCCA. They’re doing an Indigenous superhero show in August, so we’re gonna contribute to the artist payments for those artists.”
Making it every bit the community-lovin’ event that it is, Off Cuts guests are encouraged to bring along a plate of food to share. There’s even a guest judge to announce the best share plate. Art, food and fundraising? Is Don, is very good.
Off Cuts
WHEN SAT 15 APR, 6PM | SUBMISSIONS CLOSE THU 6 APR, 5PM | ARTWORK COLLECTED BY SAT 13 MAY, 2PM
AT DON WHYTE FRAMING, COCONUT GROVE
COST FREE
INFO donwhyteframing.com
