The wide attendance from all of the seven contributing council areas indicated a huge rise in the number of creatives looking to develop their professional skills and extend their ability to source grants, price their work and time more accurately, and connect with other arts practitioners in the region.

The professional development workshops offered regularly in the region have seen an increase in attendance as regional artists start to think more strategically about their arts practices.

This week, 17 people joined us to undertake a first aid course for creatives lead by Donna Price at Allens training.

The course was subsidised by the Federal Department of Social Services Volunteer Grants program and it really highlighted how essential some of these skills can be for artists working in rural and regional NSW.

Working alone in studios, being part of larger workshops, even exhibitions and general life, it is very important to know how to react to unexpected medical situations.

Participants found the course not as scary as they thought.

The offer of a subsidised first aid course was so popular that we could have filled the class three times!

We hope to secure more funding in the future to run the classes again.

You can do the full day course, learning basic first aid, CPR techniques and how to provide basic emergency life support through Allens training for only $65.

For more information about Southern Tablelands Arts head to www.southerntablelandsarts.com.au