Background

The PoARTry in Motion exhibition contains poetry and artwork with an Indigenous theme.

PoARTry in Motion highlights the work of various Queensland poets, some well known, others just beginning to express themselves through poetry. The poems in the exhibition cover such issues as identity, personal history, the natural landscape and social issues.

The title ‘PoARTry in Motion’ indicates that poetry is a form of artistic expression itself. The "in Motion" refers to the evolving nature of the exhibition. This is now relevant in that the exhibition will be travelling throughout Queensland.

The exhibition was initiated and developed by Cooloola Shire Library Service’s Indigenous Resource Unit in 2000/2001 and funded by a State Library of Queensland Innovation Grant (now called a Library Strategic Development Grant).

The exhibition was initially launched on February 16 2001 by the Honourable Matt Foley, then Minister for the Arts, at Cooloola Shire Library Service, Gympie.

After its initial showing in Gympie, the exhibition was given to the State Library of Queensland for display in public libraries throughout Queensland.

The tour of PoARTry in Motion was launched by Library Board member Jackie Huggins at Inala Library, Brisbane City Council, on 6 August 2001as part of a day celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and community.

Currently, there are plans for over 30 libraries throughout Queensland to present PoARTry in Motion. These include Mossman, Toowoomba, Thursday Island, and Cunnamulla.

A full report of Cooloola Shire Library’s Cool-in-Lib project which established and improved library services to the Indigenous community in the Cooloola Shire and surrounding areas is available at http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/file/7704/cooloola.doc