2021 is the year that Flying Arts Alliance turns 50. Help us celebrate by celebrating you! Together let’s Paint the Town all across Queensland and beyond.
From October 2021 until October 2022, we will be celebrating our Flying Arts community, from our talented artists to the enterprising artsworkers, the dedicated teachers and educators and emerging young artists, and the creative communities thriving throughout Queensland.
Help us celebrate by celebrating you!
We invite you to join us on the evening of Thursday 7 October for a virtual event to celebrate the launch of our 50th Anniversary.
The celebrations will take flight with the announcement of the award winners and finalist selection for the 2021 Queensland Regional Art Awards, along with the launch of our very special anniversary project.
We invite you to participate in the launch event virtually, wherever you may be located. See more details below.
Show us how you celebrate! Don’t forget to share on social media with #FlyingArts50
Soaring to new heights
For 50 years we have been supporting rural, regional and remote arts communities to strengthen wellbeing, promote social connection, engagement and creativity and launched arts careers.
From art classes in remote locations, to young artist residencies in metropolitan centres, to online professional development workshops and industry consultations and a prestigious art prize, Flying Arts has provided transformative experiences that sustained lives, lifestyles and livelihoods.
Our Legacy
In 1971, Mervyn Moriarty made his very first Flying Arts flight. He flew solo out of Archerfield airport in Brisbane on a 6000km round journey to meet with regional representatives across the state to assist him in establishing Flying Arts, then known as the EastAus Art School.
Merv remained the principal tutor from 1971 to 1983, flying to an average of 26 centers four times a year, with extra trips made to organise exhibitions and other special events. During this time, he totaled over 1250 trips and flew well over 400,000km.
During these years, the organisation was credited as being a catalyst for social regeneration for hundreds of artists living on rural properties and regional towns throughout Queensland. This legacy lives on today in the work of Flying Arts Alliance, as the organisation became known in 1994, and the many art groups which formed across the state thanks to Merv’s tutelage.