Bumbira arts and culture group holds first gallery COVID-19 crisis

About 28 paintings, weavings and clay tile works are set to be on display at the group's new Darling Street shopfront.

Project officer Tess Reading said their artists, largely women, had developed their art works over the five weeks of school term two, within Bumbira art classes.

"They don't have to create something for the exhibition, they can just come and sit and talk or paint something for themselves to take home. We just wanted to give the exhibition a sort of a goal for some of the ladies because you get to the point where you've stacked up canvases at home where you don't know what to do with them," she said.

"We thought if we give them an exhibition there's a capacity there also to sell their artworks. They had that option if they wanted to sell or if they wanted to keep it for later on."

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The night's theme 'Stories in the Stars' reflects the stories of Indigenous astronomy, she said.

Many of the stories are centuries old, or older, but often with an individual spin on them.

"The option was if they had their own story that they knew from growing up that they were open to share they could do that, paint that if they wanted to," she said.

The gallery opening will also be the grand opening for the Bumbira's new shop space, showing the value of the premises.

"There's some amazing artists [in Bumbira]," she said.

"They don't have the opportunity to get their art out there, so we're giving them that space."

The next project for Bumbira participants is another exhibition, this one in Warialda, with art works to be ready in just a fortnight.

After that breakneck pace, the group will have a quieter time until a NAIDOC exhibition in July.

Mrs Reading said art is a great tool for creating a sense of community.

"I find that art's really therapeutic. You just relax, you zone out and I think I find a lot of ladies enjoy that social interaction coming together as a group," she said.

"Either just having a yarn or coming to paint or coming to create something."

The event kicks off at 5pm on Thursday evening. The exhibition will remain open until July 1.

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