Lachlan Martin who’s just finished at Glen Innes High School has been accepted at the University of the Arts which is recognised as one of the best places on the planet to study the visual arts. The snag is that the cost is $30,000.

Undeterred, he decided to try to raise the money. He’s now gathered pretty well all the talent that’s available in Glen Innes to perform at the Services Club on Saturday, July 14.

Raffle tickets are also being sold and there’s a crowd funding effort at GoFundMe.com (put Lachy Martin’s name in). Prizes in the raffle include accommodation on the Gold Coast, a family ticket to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo and to the PBR Tamworth Invitational rodeo.

He’s going to auction some of his paintings. He’s done a new one of an autumn landscape near Glen Innes but others of his – much more surreal – will also be on offer.

Here’s how he describes his upbringing on the GoFundMe page: “Growing up in the Australian country town of Glen Innes, Lachy has spent most of his life on a farm. His small town upbringing provided him with an encouraging community but made it hard for art to reach him as a child, discovering it himself through drawing.

“As the years passed, and his art was beginning to be a part of regional competitions and the local shows, his confidence and desire to pursue art became evident.”

Now the big jump. Will he make it?

See also: Stars of stage and gallery