Cultural Exchange program

Some Background

In 1998, a sister city relationship was born between Hervey Bay city, Queensland, Australia and Leshan city, Sichuan Province, China, while the friendship relationship between Maryborough city and Kasukabe, Japan, has been in place since 1997. 

Through these partnerships, the sister cities/friendship communities are discovering many economic and environmental benefits and, just as enriching, opportunities for sharing our educational and cultural knowledge.

With the formation of Fraser Coast Regional Council in 2009, a Sister City / Friendship Community Committee has been established to continue nurturing these international relationships.
Since 2003, members of the Leshan Folk Art Research Institute and community, with support from the Foreign Affairs Office, Leshan, have liaised with Hervey Bay Regional Gallery and council to facilitate a range of activities.  Artists from each region, practising in visual art, performance, music or literature, have been involved in exhibitions, performances, creation of artwork for the Friendship Gardens Project, as well experiencing the culture and lifestyle of each other’s countries.

The Hervey Bay & Leshan Artists Cultural Exchange (established July 2005) has seen a number of valuable interactions between artists and the community in each city.  Hervey Bay Regional Gallery, through the support of Fraser Coast Regional Council, has an integral role in strengthening relationships between the people of Leshan and Hervey Bay by continuing to nurture the exchange program.

In 2010 Hervey Bay Regional Gallery initiated the Cultural Exchange Program with Kasukabe International Friendship Association (KIFA) by hosting an exhibition of Japanese textiles, No No Hana.  Later in 2010, KIFA initiated a display of photographs of the Fraser Coast.  Photography club members in the region were invited to submit photographs, 30 of which were selected for the display, called Fraser Coast InView.  The photo exhibition then toured to six different venues in Kasukabe.

Calendar of Events

November 2003 – djaa, gandjari (Land, Waterspirit) – exhibition of indigenous artwork from Hervey Bay hosted in Leshan at Zhi Xing Shu Fang Bookshop Artists’ Space.

April 2004 – Verdure: Folk art of Leshan – exhibition of Leshan artists work hosted at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery.

April 2005 – Selected works from The Hervey Bay Photographic Competition – exhibited in Leshan at Zhi Xing Shu Fang Bookshop Artists’ Space.

May 2006 – Leshan artist, Liang Yan, visit to Hervey Bay, participated in the Ya’gubi Festival and exhibited The Life of Lotus at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery.

February 2007 – Leshan Dance Troupe visit Hervey Bay and perform at schools and Hervey Bay Regional Gallery.

May 2008 – Hervey Bay artist, Carol Seeger, artist in residence in Leshan, sponsored by Wide Bay Water, Leshan Foreign Affairs Office and Hervey Bay Regional Gallery.

February 2010 – digital photographs taken by Carol Seeger during her residency in Leshan displayed in the Gallery foyer.

February 2010 – No No Hana, Japanese textile works by Yaeko Niitsu, hosted at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery.

November 2010 – Fraser Coast InView, photographic prints by Hervey Bay Photography Club and Maryborough Camera Club members, displayed at six different venues in Kasukabe, Japan.  This series of prints has been donated to KIFA.