By Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] A [/dropcap]bout 18 months ago, things were looking decidedly grim for Artlink – a unique arts program for people with disabilities – when it moved from the heart of Warrnambool to the hard-edged industrial estate.

In fact Bluestone predicted at the time that it would signal the end for Artlink and, in many ways, it did: the Artlink program that operated out of the historic Ellerslie College building in Koroit St is not the Artlink program that now operates out of a non-descript building in Albert St.

Out of this death, however, has come a new life and it is jumping.

Jack Melican, who is a business development manager with Western District Employment Agency (WDEA) that operates Artlink, has at different times managed both incarnations of Artlink: the original and the new, and he is keen to show us the new.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] J [/dropcap]ack, like everyone else, lamented the loss of the Ellerslie College space which boasted a beautiful gallery that not only hosted exhibitions by Artlink clients, but the new and very popular Warrnibald annual portrait prize.

Artlink was central, it was freely accessible to the public and it brought a local version of the “raw” art movement – quality art produced by people with disabilities – into the mainstream.

But the space was also expensive and, in the end, unsustainable.

“The financial decision had to be made, in order to keep the program going, that it be moved out of that particular building,” Jack says.

“The Artlink program is not the same as it was, and we no longer have artists employed to teach art, but it is still a valuable part of what we do.”

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] W [/dropcap]e took up Jack’s invitation to visit the new version of Artlink that sits within the cluster of WDEA work industries off Albert St, a short walk downhill from the Midfield Meatworks, which is clearly not the most picturesque location.

But once inside the building, it is a very different – and uplifting – world.

The arts program is overseen by Paddy Kelly, an Irishman with an accent to match his name and the lithe physique of a jockey, who moves around a workroom that is packed with people at work on their creative projects.

Some, like Martin Juchtzer are painting on canvas –  he is working on a view of the Tower Hill visitor centre – using techniques he learnt at Ellerslie College with artist and teacher Jenny Altmann.

Others, like Linda Kelly, are working with watercolours or colour pencils, while client Kelly Walters has produced so many works in acrylics that she has an entire space of her own to display them.  A team of three staff, plus volunteers, keep the paint – and banter – flowing.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] W [/dropcap]hen Jack says there is “a really great vibe in here”, he is not talking it up: you can feel it.

“Our Artlink people really love coming here and very few miss a day,” he says.

Between 16-18 people use the Artlink program, including people with disabilities who are involved in other WDEA work programs on site.

Some of these clients, as Jack explains, may never have tried art before, or had an opportunity to develop their creativity, but can now do so because of the co-location.

“It is a comfortable space, an inclusive space and a place that offers enormous social interactions. In fact I reckon we are the happiest workplace in Warrnambool,” Jack says, laughing.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] W [/dropcap]hile the focus of Artlink is now undeniably different – it is more about social contact than developing artistic technique – Warrnambool has discovered it has room for both.

Following the closure of Artlink in Koroit St, Jenny Altmann started her own business (Studio 4@Factory Arts) offering painting classes to people of all abilities, based at the former Fletcher Jones factory.

Studio 4 is now part of the wider revival of the Fletcher Jones site, with a gallery space to open soon.

And the Warrnibald portrait prize has also survived, following a year’s absence, with the Warrnambool Art Gallery to host this year’s event from July 18 to August 16.

Artlink may have splintered, but what it stood for, and aspired to, remains intact around the city. How wonderful.

[box]Artlink is at 11 Albert St, Warrnambool, and can be found on Facebook here. People are welcome to visit Artlink in action. For inquiries, contact (03) 5561 2579 [/box]

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By Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] W [/dropcap]hen the wheels fell off the Artlink program earlier this year, Warrnambool artist Jenny Altmann found herself to be the last woman standing.

Artlink, a unique art program for people with disabilities, was effectively gutted when the owner of the program, Western District Employment Options (WDEA), decided to relocate it from the heart of Warrnambool’s CBD to the industrial estate because of concerns about rising costs.

Most of the professional artists attached to the program had already tendered their resignations before the move, but Jenny decided to “hang in there” and see if the rump of Artlink that remained was where she wanted to be.

She stayed only a few weeks before making the decision to strike out on her own.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] J [/dropcap]enny is now in the process of setting up classes at the former Fletcher Jones factory in Warrnambool, as an extension of those already on offer by well-known Warrnambool artists Glenn Morgan, Barry “Po” Tate and Chris Small.

“I see this as something different for me, creatively,” Jenny said.

“I want to offer classes not only for people with disabilities, and not as an art therapist, which involves a whole different form of training, but as what I call a creativity coach,” she said.

The classes will, therefore, be open to anyone interested in using art to work through any form of blockage in their life, be it emotional, professional or personal.

“It might be a writer who has writer’s block, or a musician…it is about trying to get back on your feet creatively,” Jenny explained.

Jenny knows from her years with Artlink that art has the potential to unlock parts of a person that may otherwise have never been discovered. It also has the power to heal, to reinvigorate and to connect likeminded souls.

“I have a number of tricks up my sleeve that have worked for me over the years and I know, from my own experience, that it has always been art that has pulled me through,” she said.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] I [/dropcap]ronically, the decision to run her own art classes has taken Jenny full circle. Before Artlink existed, Jenny was involved with a smaller program called Art Options that was run by WDEA out of the Fletcher Jones building.

Now she is back to a blank slate: an empty, but pleasant, light-filled room, that was previously used by a church group.

“At this point I am just putting it out to the community that I am setting this up and getting what we need in place,” Jenny said.

Anyone interested in donating tables, chairs, easels or other materials that could be used to help set up the studio space can contact Jenny on 0447 627 901. People can also register their interest in the classes.

[box] Last week, WDEA was awarded a five-star rating by Disability Employment Services for its disability management services. It also announced its expansion into Shepparton and Echuca, taking its total number of offices to 12. [/box]

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By Carol Altmann

There is something very special in the Warrnambool art scene that puts the city on par with a movement happening in places like New York, London, Paris and Switzerland, yet most of us don’t know it.

Artlink Studio, based in the 124-year-old Ellerslie College building in Koroit St, is a hub of creativity for people who have a range of disabilities, be they physical, mental or emotional, and who find expression and healing through art. Artlink provides an open-plan studio space in one of the most beautiful, sun-drenched spaces in town, together with art materials and the opportunity to learn from others.

Significantly, there is also a substantial gallery space with a permanent exhibition of works that are for sale.

In any other major city, this space would be a drawcard as part of what is known as the “outsider” art movement: art that is created by people outside of the formalities of art training.

But while “outsider”, “raw”, “naive” or “brut” art is gathering pace elsewhere, very few people venture up the 12 steps and into the Artlink gallery space outside of special events, such as the Warrnibald portrait prize that has been held (very successfully) for the past two years.

What they are missing is the chance to walk the molasses-coloured floorboards of this glorious venue and see art created from the heart, perhaps by somebody who is working only metres away in the studio space.

Visual artist Jenny Altmann, who has been with Artlink from its inception as Art Options in 2008, believes art allows people with difficulties or disabilities to find a way through.

“Art is so healing. I have used art as therapy myself, so I know how it can work,” she said.

“If you are happy at doing something, then the rest of your body is in good shape.”

“There is a magic that happens here,” adds textile artist Gayle Clark, who is one of four working artists at Artlink.

“It is not just about exhibiting and selling art, but about people being in the moment, making the connections, and finding their art spirit.”

Unlike the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, California, Artlink is not about art therapy, in terms of having specialist art therapists running the program (although one staff member does have that qualification). Instead, it is about working artists being employed to guide the creative process. That process includes not only visual art, but dance, drama, music and writing.

About 30 people at any one time regularly access Artlink, which comes under the Western District Employment Access umbrella, and Jenny has seen remarkable transformations.

“I remember one young woman who was a survivor of domestic abuse and she was so lacking in confidence when she first came here, she was almost immobilised. Now, she is doing a TAFE course. It can make that sort of difference,” she said.

[Artlink won a Highly Commended award at the recent Warrnambool Business Awards. The gallery space is open 10am-4pm, M-Thurs, 241 Koroit St, Warrnambool.]

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