Rocky local? You might have an ancestral portrait on show
If you're a Rocky local and have Petersens, Morgans, Olives or Olivers in your family tree, you might have an ancestral portrait and not even know it.
Daniel Morgan
Portrait by Belinda McGrath
The ReCollection exhibition (more here and here) will showcase five local printmakers' takes on the stories, places and faces of Rockhampton's past. Artist and art teacher Belinda McGrath's contributions are inspired by her own family tree, which stretches back several generations in the Rockhampton area.
Learning more about her ancestors' journeys led Belinda to create portraits celebrating those who left everything they'd known in their in far flung corners of the world to build new lives in the infant city of Rockhampton.
If you're descended from any of the people featured in Belinda's works, the artists invite you to be part of their opening night celebrations from 6pm on Saturday, May 5 at the Walter Reid Cultural Centre. Some names to look out for in your own family tree:
- Heinrich Kamm Petersen, born 10/07/1851, died 26/12/1919
- Daniel Morgan, born 18/03/1846, died 11/06/1921
- Joseph Olive (III), born 1844, died 18/03/1908
- Mary Oliver, born 11/07/1843, died 12/06/1927
Mary Elizabeth Oliver
Portrait by Belinda McGrath
ReCollection will be open daily from 10am - 4pm from May 6 - 12 at the Walter Reid Cultural Centre. This project has been made possible by the Regional Arts Development Fund, a partnership between the Queensland Government and Rockhampton Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland. The artists also acknowledge the support of Arts Central Queensland Inc and Capricornia Printmakers Inc.
Find out more about the exhibition on Facebook, or follow the late Dan Morgan's adventures on Instagram.