RAGE: reimagining what we discard

The local RAGE will make you sit up and take notice as some of Victoria's best sculptors descend on the shire next month. Regional Art Group Euroa (RAGE) is hosting the inaugural festival of recycled art, to be held in Euroa over the Easter weekend, 2-8 April 2026. Over 30 artists will present 60 artworks made up of about 95–100 per cent recycled materials, to pass on RAGE’s message that discarded materials are not the end of a story but may be the beginning of another. For many, recycling is deeply personal. Adriana Di Stasio’s transformation of vintage textiles and beach-found treasures, for example, is rooted in her childhood memories of crocheting beside her mother and grandmother, women who wasted nothing and passed down both skill and reverence for materials. Adriana’s work honours tradition while pushing it into new artistic territory. Similarly, Judy Wright reimagines worn denim as a site of renewal, turning everyday fabric into creative possibility. Others draw inspiration from the land and regional life, with Peter King and Darren Gilbert sourcing salvaged metal from farms, sheds, and homes across Victoria, embracing the resourcefulness embedded in rural culture. Rusted steel, weathered by time, carries the sounds and stories of its past life and through intuitive design and subtle colour, these materials are elevated into sculptural forms that honour both history and landscape. Environmental urgency is also a powerful driver, and Liz Walker’s shoreline collections of plastic debris and natural fragments shaped by tide and wind are meditations on consumption and responsibility. RAGE's Fiona Brook said the festival will tap into the creativity, innovation, and talent thriving in local communities. "Artists from within the shire and across Victoria will unleash their imagination and be part of something extraordinary," she said. "RAGE celebrates the power of imagination, or rather, reimagination, where discarded materials are transformed into striking, thought-provoking sculptures. A prize of $3000 will be awarded to an artist whose work presents balance, a clever use of the materials, and for it not to be representative of its original form in material or use. "RAGE encourages artistic excellence and a community that embraces both imagination and environmental stewardship," Fiona said. The event's committee is also excited to announce that the curator will be Genevieve Mott, formerly of the Wagga Art Gallery.