Eighteen writers across the Arts North West region were commissioned to create a short poem or prose based on their home landscape.

Eighteen selected artists have then drawn on this composition as the basis and inspiration for a new work capturing the identity and sense of place in the New England.

It has been fascinating to see the similarities in the creative process for both writer and artist. And indeed, as reader and viewer, to realise that in both "word" and "art", we still delve through the multiple layers and multiple perspectives of each work to read its narrative and to find our own meaning and interpretation.

The landscape of the New England North West is breathtaking in its diversity. It can vary from the black soil plains in the south to the granite outcrops and stunning gorge country of the tablelands.

Despite this diversity, our region has become focused and united on one issue - that of drought and water. A lack of rain combined with record temperatures has devastated communities across our region - with a number of towns forecast to run dry within six months.

New England farmers say that the current dry conditions are the worst in living memory.

It is this theme of drought, marked with history and touched by legacy, that has captured the imaginations of both writer and artist. There are depictions of drought and bushfire ravaged lands, of sky and clouds, of adversity and of the challenges in this landscape.

But then there is also the representation of strength, of resilience and of perseverance. Here we have the works with more optimism; the river, the majestic mountains, the glimpse of a new day, the detail of new growth and a sense of hope.

Art Word Place opened during Artstate, Tamworth and will be exhibited at Tamworth Regional Gallery until Sunday December 8.

Caroline Downer is the exhibition curator of Art Word Place and is Executive Director at Arts North West.