The ‘Poppies for Anzac Day project’ is a tribute to the Australian servicemen and women who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations for more than a century.

Meanwhile, the Bega Valley Regional Gallery will focus on how Australians are still engaged internationally in contemporary conflicts with the Shaun Gladwell ‘Portraits from Afghanistan’ exhibition from April 24 to June 13.

Gallery Curator Iain Dawson said the exhibition is significant to the community because it reflects our current visions of what it means to be serving in the Australian Defence forces.

“The exhibition includes a work commissioned by the Australian War Memorial called Portrait of Mark Donaldson VC,” he said.

“Trooper (now Corporal) Mark Donaldson was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia while serving in Afghanistan.”

“He was with a convoy ambushed in Uruzgan province in September2008 and during the heavy fighting he continually engaged the enemy, drawing their fire away from the wounded, and ran 80 metres across exposed ground to rescue a wounded interpreter.

“In this video portrait, Colonel Donaldson is shown in full kit gazing out of the back of a Black Hawk helicopter as it roams over a military training base in South Australia.”

Mr Dawson said Shaun Gladwell does not simply document what he witnessed in Afghanistan nor does his work create straightforward narratives.

“Instead, he stages various scenes to accentuate the diverse elements that shape this war,” he said.

Mayor Michael Britten said council was proud to have been able to access these works from the collection of the Australian War Memorial and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

“It is a testament to the reputation the Bega Valley Regional Gallery is gaining for staging inspirational and thought-provoking exhibitions which are a major contribution to the cultural life of the Bega Valley Shire,” he said.

The Portraits of Afghanistan exhibition will be opened on Friday, April 24 at 6pm by Dr Kit Messham Muir from the University of Newcastle.