Inverell Art Gallery

Hansard & Papers » Legislative Assembly » 4 June 2008 » Full Day Hansard Transcript » Item 43 of 45 »

Inverell Art Gallery
About this Item
Speakers - Torbay Mr Richard
Business - Private Members Statements, PRIV



INVERELL ART GALLERY
Page: 8232


Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands—Speaker) [9.21 p.m.]: The evolution of cultural ventures in country regions can usually be traced to volunteers and to community members who find that, if something needs to be done, they have to do it themselves. The Inverell Art Society is a shining example of this community entrepreneurship. In 1960 the Inverell branch of the Country Women's Association decided to organise painting activities in Campbell Park. A tutor from Wollongong suggested that an art society be established in Inverell. By the end of 1961 the society was up and running. Audrey Tewksbury, Beryl Campbell and Anne Neuss took their turn at the helm and steered the society through its early years.

In 1962, under the sponsorship of the Department of University Extensions, Adult Education, pottery classes began with Mrs Thompson, an art teacher, at the high school. The only accommodation available was a draughty old warehouse-type building at the bottom end of Byron Street. It is a miracle that members survived that winter, but pottery attracted additional people and membership of the society soon doubled. June Reardon came to the rescue by providing it with premises in which to gather and work regularly. She offered the use of one of her large sheds, which became the home of the Inverell Art Society for almost 10 years. Since then it has moved to Butler Hall in Evans Street and has continued to expand its floor space as well as increasing its members from all over the region. The gallery now boasts an extensive range of paintings, ceramics, needlework, leatherwork, glass products, handmade paper, hand-painted silk and olive products. It produces a sales outlet for local artists and it is a major tourist attraction.

Each year there are approximately 13 exhibitions, with opening nights drawing around 150 people and approximately 600 visitors per fortnight through the gallery, and yearly attendance averages 8,000. Artists are attracted not just from Australia but also from New Zealand and exhibit in the gallery. Facilities include a venue for artists and craftspeople to display their work and also three classrooms for the community to use for a nominal fee. These rooms are air-conditioned and available either on a full day or half-day basis. The gallery hosts an annual competitive exhibition held in conjunction with the Telstra Countrywide Sapphire City Festival and offers prize money of more than $5,000. Each year Inverell Shire Council supports the exhibition with an acquisition and prize money, which enables the art society to purchase artwork on behalf of the community, which is displayed in various locations in Inverell for the benefit of the whole community.

Every five years the gallery is involved in the successful Tom Roberts festival. The 10-day festival began in 1996 to mark the artist's centenary and his regular visits to the Inverell district, reflected in well-known paintings such as The Golden Fleece, Bailed Up and In the Corner of the Macintyre. Around 15 of Roberts' original paintings have been exhibited during the festival. Currently, the gallery exhibits approved replica paintings of Bailed Up and The Golden Fleece as town acquisitions. The festival received the National Trust Heritage Award in 1997 and the EnergyAustralia National Heritage Award. Currently, the gallery is displaying over 20 scarecrows as a result of a competition involving local business, community and schools. The competition has brought in many businesses, schoolchildren and their parents who might otherwise have not visited the gallery.

Regular activities include children's workshops, adult community classes, visual arts, as well as art-based classes. The gallery rewards volunteers with discounts and special previews of current exhibitions. Membership levels are at 400, and growing, from all sectors of the community—from professional artists to pensioners and families. Volunteers keep the gallery doors open 5½ days a week and they do a magnificent job. More recently, with the support of Inverell Shire Council, the gallery was able to appoint Sharon Thomas, a full-time administrator, who has greatly alleviated the pressure placed on volunteers by taking over the day-to-day running of the gallery.

The administrator is working with the management community to further pursue sustainable cultural development, community activities, wider partnerships and cultural networks. I urge the Government to support the initiatives of this proactive community-based gallery that has evolved through the commitment of so many local people who have invested their time and money to create such a significant cultural asset.