NERAM's annual fundraising Packsaddle exhibition is one of the highlights of its year - and the 2019 exhibition was no exception.
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More than 350 people came to the opening on Friday night, and 102 artworks were sold over the weekend.
"There was such a good buzz on the night," curator Belinda Hungerford said. "People were there in the right spirit, wanting to support Packsaddle, wanting to support NERAM, looking for works to add to their collection."
The Packsaddle volunteers hold the exhibition to support the gallery, helping to fund new acquisitions, educational and artists' programs, lectures, carpets and lighting, and exhibitions.
"Packsaddle's not just about selling art," NERAM director Rachael Parsons said. "It's also a really significant community event as well."
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Art lovers came from around the region, some even up from Sydney. The crowd, Ms Parsons and Ms Hungerford said, was diverse - not their usual opening night, but many faces they hadn't seen before.
People told Ms Parsons they liked the fact that there were artists they'd never seen before, so everything felt really fresh and new.
Part of the fun of the night was the surprise element, Ms Hungerford said.
"Works you think you're going to sell may not on the opening night, and others you thought might be slow growers were snapped up."
She wasn't sure, for instance, whether two bushranger paintings would sell, but they quickly found a buyer.
"They're in the more naive style, which not everyone understands, but the colours were lovely, and there was a charm to them," she said.
Prints and statues were also popular on the opening night. Ms Parsons bought a print by an Indigenous artist; Ms Hungerford an oil painting by artist Ben Goss she'd had her eye on.
"It was a work I'd seen downstairs while art works were coming in for Packsaddle," she said. "Every time I went down there, it caught my eye every time, so I couldn't let it go in the end!"
Packsaddle remains open until November 3. More than 500 works are for sale, but only 400 or so are on display. Portfolios and cradles show works that weren't available on opening night.
"If you did come on opening night, and didn't see anything you like," Ms Parsons said, "it is very much worth going through the portfolio; there are some beautiful works on paper available."
Ms Hungerford also encouraged visitors to return. "The work I bought wasn't an instant 'I must have that'; it was just because I'd spent a bit of time with it over a few days that it kept drawing me.
"I think other people will have that experience too if they come back and have another look; they'll see which works really speak to them and draw them back. That's a sign you should take it home with you!"
Over the next two weeks, NERAM also has a range of public programs. On Friday, October 25, the Hinton Gallery will become a Roaring Twenties speakeasy as the gallery launches its boutique whiskey and gin. On Saturday, October 26, Michael Kempson from Cicada Press will deliver the F.T. Wimble lecture on the history of print.