Chair Report 2022
Woven AGM 2021/22
Woven Chairpersons Report
July 20th 2022
Dear Woven Members,
It’s an honour to present this years’ chairpersons report.
Woven started off the 2021/22 financial year having a great time with drawing still-life with
pastels and we were also generously donated $5000 from the Cowaramup Lions to cover our
operating expenses for this financial year and for this we are super grateful.
In August, Michelle offered basket weaving workshops to our members which proved to be
really popular and we also hosted the running of an 8-week Shire funded Youth Program,
delivered by (our superstar stand-in treasurer) Kate Tarrant of Wolf Kin Studios. It was a very
successful program from all accounts and we hope to be able to support more like this one, for
our youth in the future.
We celebrated Women’s health month in September, with a mixture of events including; a
fabulous Vulva and Vino evening at Skye Wines and two hormonal educational crafty evenings
with Issy Downie (a physio and one of our legendary members), and a sell-out screening of
the moving documentary ‘Birthtime’.
The end of September 2021 marked Woven’s official 1st anniversary and our membership
base had risen to an incredible 276, a number well above what we had projected for our first
year of operation.
Woven’s second community art exhibition for 2021, themed ‘Ocean’, was held in October at
the CDSC and was a huge success. The evening showcased over 90 works from 60 talented
local creatives. A large collaborative, interactive art piece conceptualised and delivered by
Michelle Bretherton and Cara Ratajczak was also completed throughout the evening making it
a creative experience for all. Over 200 people attended the Shire-sponsored event and we
raised over $3200 for Woven from both art sale commissions and raffle sales.
A huge thank you must go to Michelle for taking the lead with organising this exhibition. What
a mammoth effort! Perhaps 1 exhibition per year is a more realistic goal from here on?! ;)
November saw us having a great time abstract painting with the talented Vez and in December
the ever-popular floral wreath workshops were once again a hit, with everyone producing
stunning arrangements.
Over the summer we trialled a Summer Series of morning Yoga classes held in the Club hall
and Pioneer Park. Pop-up pottery sessions were held again in Jan and Feb, which once again
proved to be popular as did the mosaics pop-up, also held outdoors.
Michelle and Cara launched their Woven-supported and Shire funded ‘Weaving Stories of
Boodja’, which is an outstanding series of free family workshops held throughout the year,
most of which have been held in the community garden. We are ecstatic to be able to support
such an amazing program (and so proud/lucky to have these two amazing ladies as Woven
committee members!!)
Unfortunately, the government restrictions put into place for the management of Covid-19
meant that Woven was no longer able to operate from the Cowaramup District Social Club
from Feb until June 2022. This forced hiatus gave us all a bit of breathing space to ponder on
how we have been doing things, and how we can possibly serve our members better as we
move forward into the next phase of Woven.
We kicked off our come-back last month with the screening of a pertinent, locally-made short
film ‘Choice’ which concluded with a Q & A with the writer/producer/director and actors from
the film. It was a fantastically educational and insightful evening and really brought home the
importance and appropriateness that Woven expands our scope to include more offerings of a
well-being nature, as well as continuing to foster and inspire creativity.
We have now been given a clear rental agreement from the CDSC and our viability of free-
offerings is needing to be re-assessed. We are also in need of reassessing how we charge for
our membership and workshops to ensure we remain a sustainable NFP organisation.
Unfortunately, for the time being, our weekly Monday studio sessions are on hold, however we
do believe these gatherings are an important part of the Woven vision and absolutely have
their place, so further thought will need to be given to how we deliver this offering as we
navigate venue options.
Woven Moving Forward
While we currently operate most of our events from the Cowaramup District Social Club, we
are actively exploring options beyond this venue which will serve our members, vision and
workshops/offerings more appropriately. Our long-term goal to have our own purpose-built
space for fulfilling our vision is strong as ever, and we hope that as we continue to provide
quality, community-centred offerings we will gain the support that is needed to make this
happen. Until this time we are open to holding our events in other venues outside of the club
as opportunities arise.
It seems summer crafting outside is a real winner and this coming summer we are excited
about utilising the community garden more as a fabulous outdoor location for a diverse range
of events, including our regular monthly workshops, Mum’s and Cubs sessions and other pop-
ups. The next Woven Community Art Exhibition is currently being planned for late Feb/Early
March 2023 which will also hopefully be held in the Community Garden space.
A huge thank you to the Woven committee for everything you all do. Once again, this year we
have seen the committee change around bit for varying reasons, but it has been so lovely to
have everyone show such sincere care and enthusiasm for what Woven is all about.
Voluntary work for the community in any capacity is a commendable act and to have so many
new committee member nominations this year has been such a beautifully heart-warming and
soul invigorating thing to see. We are very excited about what lies ahead for Woven with so
many new, enthusiastic hands on board!
A big thanks must also go to all of the amazing volunteer facilitators and other helpers who
have either shared their crafts and talents, helped hang up artwork or pack away chairs. We
appreciate every single one of you and couldn’t operate without your support.
Finally, thank you to all our Woven members. We appreciate your patience and understanding
as we continue to move through the interesting times of today. We hope you’ll all continue to
be part of the Woven journey as we keep evolving and growing into our greater vision, while
having a load of fun along the way.
Warm Regards,
Alice Boyd
Woven Chairperson 2021/22