Arts Queensland staff member Jenuarrie visits the exhibition

The show, at Isa, 19 Marian Street, opened as part of the NAIDOC Week celebrations, and features work by Mornington Island and Normanton artists, as well as pieces finished by Indigenous Mt Isa artists who completed workshops funded by Arts Queensland. The workshops were co-ordinated by art mentor Cecile Felderhoff, who was keen to track down Mt Isa's hidden art stars.

"Everyone knows about Central Australia artists but no one knows about artists from the Gulf," Cecile told the North West Star newspaper. "This is such a fertile area in terms of art and I believe we are only just beginning to skim the surface."

The workshops with up to 25 artists were taken by renowned artist Margaret Henry, who has also done workshops in Doomadgee.

The exhibition has proved a great success. According to Brian Atherinos, manager of Outback at Isa, it has been popular with visitors to his centre.

"We have had organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Royal Flying Doctors Service book two functions in the rooms where the art is on display," he said. "It has been very popular with $7000 worth of work sold on the first night and in excess of $10,000 overall.

"The success of this show and earlier exhibits have made us decide to have a permanent gallery space at Outback at Isa."

Mid-West, the Gulf and Beyond will be on at Outback at Isa until the end of August.

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