THE CAPO 31 art exhibition swung into action on Friday in Galleries 2 and 3 at Canberra Museum and Gallery — and it’s a beauty.

With over 100 works on display, all donated by generous Canberra artists to help raise funds for the awards and scholarships CAPO presents each year to working artists in the ACT, it provides a snapshot of the state of contemporary arts in Canberra, proving that the visual arts, at least, are thriving.

Among the exhibitors is the 2013 CAPO fellowship winner, glass artist Matthew Curtis, one of whose works, created collaboratively with Jock Puautjimi from the Tiwi Islands, is up for auction.

As well, at Friday night’s preview of the exhibition, the winners of the 2012 Macquarie Bank Award, Karen Strahan and Jill Walsh, joined their group, the Marvellous Mizdemeanours to entertain the guests, sponsors, donor artists and arts insiders present.

With the founding idea of getting arts and business together to raise funds for artists, CAPO has been going strong since 1983. In that time it has handed out over $2 million in the form of arts fellowships, travel fares and awards. These days, individual awards and scholarships are donated by Canberra businesses, but the bulk of the fundraising is done when artworks are sold at the CAPO auction, coming up this Saturday, also at the Canberra Museum and Gallery.

Judging, so CAPO president Neil Doody tells us, has been completed and the lucky winners will be announced on Saturday.

Limited Tickets are still available for “CAPO 31”, at Canberra Museum & Gallery 6.45pm, Saturday October 4, bookings to capo.org.au or 0407 512 296.

THE CAPO 31 art exhibition is now open to the public at the CMAG in Civic Square, free entry.