This innovative project is and has been an exciting adventure from the start! Artists and administrators have worked together over a period of almost two years to turn Colleen Wall's original concept of highlighting Indigenous rodeo riders into this quite remarkable and sustainable exhibition of our local Mount Isa and District culture. The concept was developed in Brisbane and brought to Mount Isa, however the group of people who literally 'took the bull by the horns' are all local residents who decided that the project management skills and creative skills were already in existence. This decision to conduct the project management locally in Mount Isa initially caused some friction, however I now feel strongly that the effort has been very worthwhile and that everyone involved should feel justifiably proud of themselves for the creative outcomes produced in this first stage of the Buckles Project.
 
Jock McQueenie's economic cultural development report is in draft stage, however i would like to quote from that report:
 
"the level of cultural infrastructure and resources in the region is not in proportion to the significance of the region's contribution to the state's economy. This inequity is not only a disadvantage to the development of the region's arts sector it also compromises the potential for real innovation in linking community culture and commerce which the Buckles Project has revealed".
 
The 'Year of the Outback' in 2002 will focus attention outside of the coastal strip of Australia. We are proud of our heritage, resources, skills and where we live in Australia, so there perhaps could not be a better time to celebrate our cultural diversity and abilities with the wider audience.
 
Alison Bohannan

Above (clockwise): Jock McQueenie, Acting Director Tony Alderton, Photographer Dusko Maric,
Co-ordinator Annette Gordon, Producer Jill O'Sullivan, Writer/Historian Siriol Giffney
Above Right: Graphic Designer Darlene Clark

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