A unique new art exhibition designed to help one of our great local community services will offer attendees a real visual feast. The show involves more than a dozen local artists working with some of our top foodies to create original works based around their favourite dishes or meals.

The inaugural exhibition at The Corner Store Gallery, starting on Thursday, October 15, will involve these works being auctioned off to raise funds for the ever-increasing needs of our very own locally based and run food bank, FoodCare, in March Street.

Entitled “Palette for Good”, the new creative project celebrates two communities that have helped shape the cultural and culinary identity of our regional centre, founders Claire Fox, a graphic designer with Roadtrip Creative, and Camilla Thompson, an accredited nutritionist at Good Plate, explained.

“At the end of 2025, Claire and I began office-sharing at Hive Orange and, together, we were looking for artworks for our very bare walls; we wanted something that spoke to both our professional disciplines – creativity and food,” Ms Thompson explained.

“We came across the posters of ‘Food For Everyone’, a project that collaborates with renowned chefs and contemporary artists to turn recipes into artworks, and we just thought, ‘Wow – what an incredible idea!’” she added. Such was the genesis of a highly inventive initiative involving 13 Orange artists being paired with some of the region’s top chefs, restaurateurs, producers, and food personalities to offer some real food for thought,

Ms Fox recalled. “We immediately saw how well a similar project could be applied to our hometown of Orange – a place with a flourishing food scene and an exciting community of creatives,” Ms Fox said. Under the project, each artist was matched with a local foodie, with pairings spanning some of Orange’s most recognised hospitality names alongside emerging and established artists.

Each pair met, ate, talked, and exchanged stories before the artist was given a deliberately open brief: turn the conversation into an original artwork. The resulting 13 original works will be revealed at the exhibition running until Monday, October 19, before being auctioned to raise funds for local food-relief charity FoodCare Orange.

Each work will also be printed as a poster, offering a second life beyond the gallery walls, with all money from sales also going to FoodCare. Collaborations include Hugh Piper of one-hatted eatery Hey Rosey, paired with Wiradjuri artist, Sandon Gibbs O’Neil, from Burruguu Art, while the Union Bank’s Dom Aboud has worked alongside painter, Larissa Blake. Other pairings include Simonn Hawke of Fiorinis (formerly of two-hatted Lolli Redini) with Tully Moore; Racine Bakery, brought to life by Sophie Ryan; contemporary gelato shop Spilt Milk Bar, paired with Whitney Spicer; and long-time local institution Stans Hot Food, with artist Sophie Corks.

The partnership comes at a time of rapidly growing demand for FoodCare’s services, which have experienced a 20 per cent increase in customers year on year and a 50 per cent increase over the past two and a half years, with working families accounting for 60 per cent of new customers. With these new pressures of tough economic times continuing to impact local families and individuals, the organisation is enormously grateful for both the funding and awareness the project has generated, FoodCare president, Sue Clark, said. “Food insecurity is a serious and insidious issue for so many communities, and it does not discriminate,” Ms Clark explained. “We welcome all members of the community at FoodCare, and are enormously grateful to Palette for Good for helping us raise awareness and funding with this exciting project,” she added.

This unique collaboration, Ms Thompson believes, shows what a caring crowd we have here in the Colour City. “It is a testament to our local community that both artists and foodies were willing to give up their time and expertise for this project, and for such a worthy cause,” Ms Thompson said. “We’re immensely thankful to each of them, and all of our amazing sponsors, and are so proud to be able to support FoodCare,” she concluded.

In more good news for a good cause, entry for the exhibition opening is by gold-coin donation only, with all proceeds from the night also going to FoodCare. For more details, go to www.paletteforgood.com/about-p4g