People
6 May, 2026
Gala arts events headline 2026 Kelpie Muster weekend
FOR those who have a more artistic and creative side than a yard work side, there are plenty of opportunities to take part in the Casterton Kelpie Muster.
Begun in 2011 and organised by Muster ‘originals’, Ann James and Sharon McGrath, the Kelpie Muster Art Show, incorporating the Kelpie Acquisitive Art Award is the official opening event of the weekend and draws entries from across the district and the country, with $2000 prizemoney on offer for the main award.
Growing exponentially, the Casterton Rotary Club took on the task to turn the fantastic Art Deco Casterton Town Hall into a spectacular display of artworks under the banner of the Kelpie Muster Art Show.
The major prize offered is the Acquisitive Art Award, a subject category featuring artwork depicting Australia’s iconic working dog, of course it’s the Kelpie.
Upon payment of the major prize by the Casterton Kelpie Association, the winning entry is added to the collection of former winners which remain on display at the Australian Kelpie Centre right here in Casterton, the birthplace of the kelpie.
Rotary has created additional art subject categories and added The Gorman Prize for Portraiture, The Vickery Bros Australiana award and an emerging artists’ prize to the main event.
All art, except the acquisitive art award, is for sale with generous prizes offered for the winning entries in each category.
The Kelpie Muster Art Show will be held on Thursday, 4 June, 2026 at the Casterton Town Hall.
Visit www.castertonrotary.org for more information, including links to the entry form.
Celebrating Beckett
CELEBRATING its 14th year in 2026, the Clarice Beckett Art Award, presented by Artists of the Valley and Gorman’s Art Gallery, was instigated to honour artist, Clarice Beckett, born in Casterton in 1887.
Not starting her formal art training until age 26, Beckett surmounted her father’s objections and attended the National Gallery School of Victoria in Melbourne, studying under Frederick McCubbin, one of Australia’s leaders of the country’s impressionist school and later, Max Meldrum.
Hailed by few and criticised by many, Beckett died at the young age of 48, as a result of illness brought on while outside painting during a storm.
The significance of Beckett’s subtle work was soon forgotten, and her paintings put in storage in various locations, until a chance encounter in the 1960s when art expert, Rosalind Hollinrake discovered some mysterious but compelling canvases signed C.Beckett.
Embarking upon a search for the identity behind this unfamiliar name, her quest eventually led her to an open-sided barn in the Victorian countryside - and the horrible sight of 1200 rotting Clarice Beckett paintings, the majority of which had been destroyed by almost 40 years of exposure to the elements and rodents.
Posthumous exhibitions and retrospectives have since been held across the country, giving this long-neglected artist the recognition she is due.
Entries for the Clarice Beckett Art Award close on Friday, 15 May and the award will be presented at the Clarice Beckett Exhibition opening at Gorman’s Gallery on Friday, 5 June.
For further information, visit the Gorman’s Art Gallery & Artists of the Valley Facebook page or email secretarygag@gmail.com.
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