Art on the Road: Anglesea & Beechworth

Hello, hi, welcome to my new blog series! How exciting! Woooohooooo

I have always been quite the adventurous individual, but Australia definitely brings out an exhilarating level of eagerness to explore every last kilometre of my surroundings.

In fact, my aim for 2025 is to go on at least one roadtrip every month, tracking down all of the best art spots in the state, and of course, sharing my findings with all of you! Couldn't leave you out now, could I?

In January I actually over-succeeded my goal and visited FIVE new locations: Heathcote, Axedale, Anglesea, Beechworth & Dookie. 

Rhonda the RAV and me (if you don't have a name for your car, I'm sorry but you're weird), I travelled a total of 1,180 km this month and drove for approximately 13 hours and 10 minutes to visit these locations. To put that into perspective, that is less of a distance than if I drove from London to Edinburgh and back (1070 km) or from Manchester to Paris (1080km)!!

The size of Australia never fails to baffle me.

And whilst I’m sure Heathcote, Axedale & Dookie had a lot of great things to offer artistically, I only had time to explore the art spots in Angelsea and Beechworth. 

Sooooo... shall we? 

Stop 1: The Anglesea Art House 

Wowee. Anglesea is a very pretty town. I didn’t get any great pictures so I’m relying on Google to demonstrate just how pretty it was:

Despite a pretty small population of just 2,545 people, Anglesea was buzzing! Though, it is sandwiched between Lorne and Torquay on the Great Ocean Road, so I can imagine it is a pretty popular spot for visitors! 

And as pretty and scenic and wonderful and beautiful as Anglesea was, I left the trip feeling overwhelmingly inspired by one arts organisation in particular: The Anglesea Art House. 

Nestled into a quiet suburban street, a gigantic shed stood with its doors stood wide open - spilling out with young children proudly showing off their new creations to their parents and friends, whilst others were eager to get inside and get involved. 

The best way I can explain what I saw inside the Anglesea Art House was an arts workshop extravaganza. It was every young artist’s dream! 

Numerous tables were set up with different arts activities. From creating your own dream catchers and air dry clay animals, to crafting bead jewellery, masks and painting your own plates and bowls. Kids chose which activity they wanted to do, picked up the materials from the relevant table, and worked away at the designated workshop spaces.

A relatively straightforward concept yes, but I really loved how many options the Art House provided the kids with - it gave them so much autonomy to play with materials or an arts activity they knew that they enjoyed, or experiment with something new.

I honestly wanted to join in and pick my own activity!

It really encouraged a space of comfort and freedom for little ones, and whilst so much was happening, there was also this soothing, calming and quiet atmosphere whilst these young artists concentrated on completing their masterpieces. 

Once they had finished their creations, they paid for their materials (which were all extremely low-cost) and went home with some great pieces!

The Art House even offered 'Art to Go' craft bags so that participants could continue expressing their newfound artistic practice at home.

This initiative is called the Kids Art Bash, and it runs for 3 weeks in January every year during the school holidays, so definitely something to check out if you have some little ones!

Aside from the Kids Art Bash, the Art House hosts exhibitions where locals can submit their artwork for a chance to be displayed and sold at the venue's year-round gallery, or in their Annual Art Exhibition in June.

It also hosts a variety of fun workshops and classes, from painting, drawing and pottery, to glassmaking, mosaics, printing and textiles!

And if you thought that was wholesome enough, after speaking with a lovely facilitator, I found out that the Anglesea Art House is ran completely by volunteers! Isn't that incredible?

Maybe I should move to Anglesea.

But in all seriousness, I thought it was just the loveliest discovery during my visit to Anglesea, and left me feeling very warm and fuzzy and inspired!

So if you happen to be travelling the Great Ocean Road, check out the Anglesea Art House on Cameron Road. You can find out more through their website: https://angleseaarthouse.com.au/ or on Instagram: @angleseaarthouse

And whilst you're at it, check out the Anglesea Art Space which is a community-based shop front gallery just a 5 minute walk from the Art House!

Stop 2: oneofftwo STUDIOS, Beechworth

Beechworth! Beeeautiful! But no beach, just in case you thought that like I did...

With another very small population of just over 3,000 people, Beechworth is a very well-preserved historic gold-mining town located in the regional north-east area of Victoria.

It has an abundance of sweet boutiques, extremely popular bakeries and stunning waterfalls and lakes galore!

Something that it definitely wasn't short of was its art galleries and studios, including Dore Stockhausen and Marcus Foley's incredible studio, oneofftwo STUDIOS!

Whilst the artist's space may be located in part of the old and eerie Mayday Hills Asylum built in 1876, the studio stretches out across a green oasis just 5 minutes drive from the town centre, oozing serenity, calm and peace. Could you think of a better atmosphere for a studio?

Upon entering the building, it is very clear that this ambience is mirrored within its interior.

Dore is an incredible abstract painter - her works are eccentric and bold, combining geometric shapes with nature, such as flowers and leaves.

Her use of line is spectacular, and whilst a lot of her painterly components are solid and firm, the works echo a lot of movement - providing the impression that the shapes might just jump out at you from the canvas.

Marcus is an extremely talented silver and goldsmith with a profound expertise in jewellery-making and hollow-ware - I especially loved the rings he makes for exhibitions: funky and bright, combining dazzling gemstones with mini photo frames of bright floral patterns.

It is so evident when wondering through Dore and Marcus's studio how well their works compliment each other, showcasing a mutual intrigue of combining the abruptness of geometry, with the fluidity we often find in our more natural environments.

Tools and paints across the tables, works in process and a dozen names on a sign-up list for masterclasses, it is clear that Dore & Marcus are busy creatives, but they had no issue with spending time talking to us about their work and explaining their respective artistic processes - which I was ever so grateful for.

I love visiting artist's studios because I truly believe it breaks down a very common distance between an artist and their audience. It really isn't very often that you see an artwork at a gallery, or anywhere really, and you also get to meet the person who created it.

Not only can you gain a better understanding of their practice and why they do what they do, but you can also actually see the process behind the finished outcomes - it feels like connecting the dots together.

As I left oneofftwo STUDIOS, I took a deep breath and felt so refreshed and inspired! So thank you Dore and Marcus for a truly exciting and engaging visit to your wonderful studio, and if anybody finds themselves in Beechworth, I would recommend making it your mission to give them a visit!

You can find out more through their website: https://www.oneofftwo.com/ or you can find them on Instagram: @oneofftwostudios

Beechworth is also home to the Beechworth Contemporary Art Space, Mayday Hills Art Society and Kathy Elm Art Gallery, as well as the Beechworth Biennale! So if you need an art fix, this spot is a good way to cure it!

So there we are! I have loved my first iteration of Art on the Road and I am super excited to see where February takes us. Maybe Rhonda will take us even further than the distance of a return trip from Manchester to Paris? Either way, I'll be sure to bring you along!