Crush Festival, 2009, photography by Paul Beutel, image courtesy of Creative Regions.
While the city galleries of arts mecca Melbourne and Sydney may have their share of contemporary arts offerings, taking the road less travelled towards regional towns offers an abundance of unique and localised arts experiences, with these institutions positioning themselves as a platform for highlighting country culture, identity and Australian history.
Visiting cultural venues outside of the metropolitan not only enrich and refine holistic art experiences but according to CEO of Museums and Galleries NSW (MGNSW) Michael Rolfe supporting regional arts in turn gives back through the visitor economy.
‘Cultural tourists, our research shows, stay longer and they spend more. So it’s got to be something that’s worth the effort and understood as a local benefit,’ said Rolfe.
This year the NSW Government launched the State’s first ever arts and cultural policy framework, Create in NSW, led by Arts NSW , which will focus on regional NSW funding artistic development and improving access and networks. In turn Museums & Galleries of NSW (MGNSW) is also developing the provision of resources and touring exhibitions as part of the National Exhibition Touring Support group across central and wider NSW.
Executive Director of Arts NSW Mary Darwell said that they will be establishing art initiatives with a focus on regional perspective.
‘Regional artists bring regional stories. They bring the stories of the life of regional NSW and the experience of that. Insofar as our cultural life is wrought of many stories of people from a great diversity of backgrounds,’ said Darwell.
In southern Sydney, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre(HRGAC) boasts a diverse artistic program in the support of local artists, including the upcoming 2015 iteration of the popular Art on Paper award, which has 93 artists who have worked with paper medium, and will host the exhibition Labours of Love exploring Australian quilts from 1850 to 2015. Centre Manager and Gallery Director at HRGAC, Belinda Hanrahan said that community pride is instilled within the centres.
‘Regional centres have an invaluable connection with community. They understand the needs and the aspirations and the wants of their local audience, and they’re connected with people as individuals. They live next door. They live in their region, and they bring their visitors to your complex. They want to be proud,’ said Hanrahan.
Another NSW gallery breaking new ground is the Albury Regional Art Gallery which has been redeveloped as the Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA), a new space for contemporary art in Albury. As one of the state’s largest and best equipped exhibition spaces, the museum has the capacity to stage major national and international exhibitions and house large-scale installations such as 3D and 2D sculpture and paintings.
Regional Victoria has an buffet of exhibitions and art projects for the culturally driven tourist. Promotions Officer at Hamilton Art Gallery (HAM) Amy Knight said that it’s important to recognise different galleries and establishments often have their own unique character.
‘In my opinion a lot of regional galleries in Victoria have their special strengths. Like Bendigo is doing contemporary art and fashion very well, Ararat for example do a lot of tapestries and things like that and Shepparton with its ceramics and I think we don’t have that one thing that defines us, because our collection is so large,’ said Knight
HAM in the outer region of western Victoria holds extensive collection of over 8000 items including paintings, prints, Asian art, ceramics, metalwork and glass, with a focus of 18th and 19th century English and European decorative art. Knight said regional galleries often hold hidden treasures that are unsuspecting to city visitors.
‘A lot of people are quite surprised with what we have here, especially with the Paul Sandby paintings. They are really quite shocked,’ said Knight.
The City of Greater Bendigo has long been a thriving artistic and cultural hub, with the world-class Bendigo Art Gallery, famed for bringing international blockbusters exhibitions to the town, along with the impressive 1000-seat Ulumbarra Theatre transformation from a old gold-mining prison, which hosted the world premiere of Ned: A New Australian Musical.
According to City of Greater Geelong, Manager of Arts & Culture Kaz Paton there is extraordinary momentum growing within the arts and culture sector in Geelong’s future developments. Illustrated by the upcoming Mountain to Mouth (M~M), a multi-award winning innovative cultural second biannual event which will take place May 2016. Returning next year after a successful 2015 event, Geelong After Dark, a now annual vibrant city centre arts event lights up Geelong with spontaneous performances, music and art installation.
Further up north Mildura Arts Centre (MAC) offers an extensive permanent collection formed over the last sixty years, including the largest single collection of paintings by artist Sir William Orpen, and boasts art by Edgar Degas, as well as works by Sir Frank Brangwyn and a range of significant English, Irish and Australian works.
Arts and Culture Development Manager at MAC Antonette Zema said that regional galleries are often more community focused, responding to what people express interest towards. ‘We try to cater to an array of needs and working out what people would like to see and building those relationships which is the biggest part of it,’ said Zema.
The Art Gallery of Ballarat (AGB) has a bevy of events going forward, hosting exhibitions by Melbourne artist Ash Coates, Tarli Glover, Samuel Thomas Gill and Dena Kahan. The gallery will be the exclusive Victorian venue for the 2015 Archibald Prize and host both the Victorian Indigenous Art Awards and the Ballarat International Foto Biennale in August.
Director of the Art Gallery of Ballarat Gordon Morrison said that regional galleries are offering the same standard as urban centres, but this is often misjudged by the public.
‘One thing you do have to deal with in a regional environment is a degree of cultural cringe,’ said Gordon. ‘Cultural cringe often translates to that if it’s only on display in our gallery then there must be something better you could see in Melbourne. I think anyone that works within a regional gallery environment knows that they’re are constantly trying to butt against that mindset,’ said Gordon.
Across to South Australia, rebirthing from the ravages of drought in the area, within the Alexandrina Council regions, the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia has been a hub for painters since colonial settlement and the region also holds the South Coast Regional Arts Centre and Signal Point Gallery hosting high quality visual arts programming.
Leah Grace, Arts and Cultural Development Officer at Alexandrina Council said that the region has seen a considerable shift in the last couple of years with increased levels of participation.
‘I’m so passionate about arts and cultural development in my region, because there is no less talent in the regions than there is in the metropolitan centres, just a different density of population,’ said Grace.
Up north in Queensland, Toowoomba Regional Council has a range of cultural events in store for the year, with a moving ANZAC Centenary tribute presenting Poppies for Reg and Ruby: Remembering the Great War through the Lindsay Family, on display until June 28, 2015.
Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery also boasts one of Australia’s most extensive collections of wearable and decorative arts, showcased in the Contemporary Wearables Jewellery Awards and Exhibition.
Four separate exhibitions highlighting Asian and Pacific Islander art and culture are being held across Moreton Bay Regional Council’s three regional art galleries Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Pine Rivers Art Gallery and Caboolture Regional Art Gallery. Also within Queensland the acclaimed Sunshine Coast Art Prize 2015, will showcase the best of the region, in partnership with the Sunshine Coast Council.
Opening minds and working in creative arts production across Bundaberg, Queensland and the surrounding area, Creative Regions produces performances, exhibitions, digital content and hybrid arts experiences. Each year throughout the month of October the annual Crush Festival invites visitors to explore different art forms, stimulating and showcasing high quality, innovative regional arts experiences.
Shelley Pisani, Creative Producer of Creative Regions identifies regional arts establishments as working more community orientated then their urban counterparts.
‘Everything is done in a much more collaborative way and they are very resourceful,’ said Pisani. ‘On a shoe-string budget they can run a project, with amazing outcomes. Great outcomes doesn’t necessarily come from a capital city, they can come from a regional area’.
Zema from Mildura Arts Centre agrees, noting that while city arts experiences are more accessible, the regions still offer unparalleled local perspectives.
‘They might come easier in the city but certainly in the regions they are doing some amazing projects that really do push the boundaries and are putting the regions on the map,’ concludes Zema.
Participating institutions:
Alexandrina Council
Art Gallery of Ballarat
Arts NSW
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
City of Greater Bendigo
City of Greater Geelong
Creative Regions
Hamilton Art Gallery
Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre
Mildura Arts Centre
Moreton Bay Regional Council
Murray Art Museum Albury
Museums and Galleries of NSW (MGNSW)
Sunshine Coast Council
Toowoomba Regional Council
