The ‘Rainbow Dreaming – Tales of the Age of Aquarius’ exhibition was held in the Nimbin School of Arts from Friday 12th through to Sunday 21st May.
The process of establishing a venue for the exhibition was protracted and convoluted, but in the true spirit of Aquarius, everything came together at the last moment and the exhibition was staged in the centre of town where it deserved to be.
Peter Derrett’s Aquarius 73 images were also displayed in the Nimbin School of Arts building. These images portray the original Aquarius Festival. Rainbow Dreaming explores the legacy of that festival and the evolution of the alternate movement on the north coast of NSW. Together the two exhibitions showcased the Aquarian culture stemming out of the 1973 festival and spreading through to the present.
The exhibition was well-patronised. The spirit of Aquarius is well represented by the exhibition and both long-time Nimbin residents and visitors spent a considerable amount of time reading the text and viewing the images.
Sincere thanks to David Hallett for facilitating the exhibition and being readily available with help and guidance during set-up and pack-down.
The exhibition is available in book form and a good number of books were sold, allowing people to “take the exhibition home”. Many of the books were sold by the volunteers on the Information Centre in the foyer of the School of Arts hall. Thanks especially go to Pauline Ahearn for her commitment.
The exhibition is currently stored in the Bark Hut of the Nimbin Community Centre, awaiting inclusion in the Aquarian Archive which has been proposed for Nimbin town. The funds for such an archive are yet to be raised, but with appropriate funding the dream can surely be realised.