West of Field
Text by John Lampard
Perth, in Western Australia, may be one of the most isolated capital cities in the world, but its remoteness has not had the slightest impact on the city’s creative or artistic output. Perhaps what Perth, and Western Australia, may miss out on though, is greater recognition of the work of its artists and creatives.
And it was this feeling that Western Australia was not enjoying its share of Australia’s artistic spotlight, that prompted Petar Ceklic to establish Artists WA in March 2006, a blog that focuses exclusively on the work of artists and creatives in his home state.
“I work as a web and graphic designer and have always been interested in art that’s a bit left of centre. I decided to start Artists WA earlier this year as there was nothing else like it around,” says Petar, of Leederville in Perth.
Running Artists WA as blog allows Petar the freedom to add profiles as and when he finds new work, rather than publishing on a regular basis.
“The website doesn’t work to any formal publication schedule; as the talent is found it’s added to the site. Initially I sourced talent in the creative department that I worked for. Nowadays people suggest artists, and I also go to galleries and ask people to be involved.”
And despite Perth’s geographic isolation, Petar dosen’t see this as necessarily being a hindrance to local artists. If anything, he feels it works in their favour.
“Perth is so small therefore we don’t have the opportunities say Melbourne or Sydney artists have, but then again with the web being a strong factor in getting out there, it shouldn’t really matter too much where a person is based. Plus being so isolated gives Perth artists a certain style I think.”
So far Petar has featured the work of photographers, illustrators, painters, sculptors, and even a plush toy maker. And so long as the work is creative, Petar will profile it, regardless of the artistic medium the work was created with.
“Anything that can be showcased will be featured on the site so I guess there are no real limitations on genres. Artists WA doesn’t really touch music or sound, but I think that’s a huge genre and could probably have an entire site dedicated to it,” says Petar, who also operates Teknoscape, a website promoting the electroncia and dance music scene in Perth.
While Petar’s project is still relatively new, he already has a few plans for the future. One proposal is to establish a community of local artists by way of a discussion forum. He would also eventually like to make works featured on Artists WA available for purchase via the site.
And despite the time and energy the project requires, there is little doubt what Petar is in it for.
“No questions, it’s the end product, the awesome art!” he says.
