THE INTERVIEW - How Do You Picture An Art Gallery?

How do you picture an art gallery?

Do you imagine collections of portraits painted centuries ago, hanging in ornate gold period frames in huge galleries peppered with virtually empty corridors; unless a collection by Monet or Renoir is in town hauling in the crowds?

Or maybe a modern, avant-garde style gallery filled with minimalist designs and pieces created by an artist exploding paint cans over a canvas?

What about a charming, decades old white weatherboard cottage nestled on a sharp bend in the road, with stunning views of the sea on one side and hectares of vegetable crops growing in farmed land on the other; a cottage filled with imaginative, locally inspired paintings, glass art, and textile designs?

An unlikely setting maybe, but that’s exactly where The Gallery at Werribee South, an artist run gallery, is situated on the outskirts of Melbourne’s western suburbs, and it’s a true hidden gem.

Heading up the weathered wooden decked porch and entering the small front room of cottage, you are greeted instantly by one of The Gallery’s friendly members who are only too happy to show you around, talk excitedly about the resident artists and their background, and explain the inspiration and meaning behind every piece, generally making one instantly feel like an old friend.

The space has a true local atmosphere with paintings of the local market gardens of Werribee South and sea coast scenery decorating every inch of wall. Shelves displaying abstract glass collages and intricate embossed paper crafts are dotted around the room, and table sitting in the corner with little wooden carved men standing to attention in a row.

The Gallery was established in 1998 by Clare Bannatyne, gallery owner, coordinator, and resident glass artist, with the help of two friends Kathleen Vafiadis and Carol Rowlands, both painters and sculptors as well as exhibiting artists at The Gallery.

Now a co-operative venture, The Gallery is run by 12 members, all artists, who share the costs and benefits of running the space, and all exhibit and sell their creations at the site. Each member takes their turn opening and running The Gallery every Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

The unique idea of an artist run gallery came about because of the lack of space available for local artists to exhibit their work, with the majority of spaces around Melbourne and its surrounding suburbs being too expensive.

“I was having lunch with two of my friends and we were having a whinge about the lack of space there was where artists could exhibit locally,” Clare explains.

“Then one of them said we should stop complaining and do something about it, and one of them mentioned the front room of my house was a good space we could use. And that’s how it all started.”

Clare is not at all what we might imagine an artist to be like. A seemingly reserved woman with an assertive air, her presence appears more businesslike than one might expect of an artist. Yet her creative and unique fused glass designs are obviously the creation of someone with bucket loads of imagination and talent; and she is only too happy to share her experiences and background in art.

Also dabbling in wood designs and oil painting, Clare has been creating fused glass art for the past 30 years. She originally trained and worked as an architect before moving onto becoming a lecturer in exhibition design and promotion at RMIT University. She served on the Craft Board of the Australian Council for Arts in the 1970s and completed a mentorship with stained glass artist Gerry Cummins, one of Australia’s leading glass artists specialising in restoring historic stained glass windows.

In March The Gallery celebrated its tenth anniversary in style by exhibiting creations by its artists at Steps Gallery in Lygon Street, Carlton. Steps Gallery, a purpose built exhibition space operated by the Meat Industry Employees Superannuation Fund since 1989, was the idea conceived by those member of the organisation who had a keen interest in art.

The Gallery’s exhibition ‘Over the bridge and around the bend’ was great exposure for its artists according to Clare: “Instead of trying to bring the people to our little gallery, we thought we would bring our art to them.”

Textile artist Gillian Pearl, one of The Gallery’s members, praises the support shown to them by the local community, describing the Steps exhibition as great advertising for their work and public profile.

“The hardest thing is to create an interest in art and craft among the public,” she explains, and is hopeful that in passing on their knowledge and skills that this will generate more interest in art in the local community.

Gillian’s most beautiful creations include her delicately hand painted silk scarves with Australian flora and ocean themes. She also creates intricate quilted wall pieces mirroring the sea themes of her scarves. Her background includes teaching silk painting and machine embroidery at TAFE level and has also offered her knowledge and skills to the Embroiderers Guild and classes at various community centres.

Wyndham City Council’s Arts and Cultural Development Officer Emma Techritz says council is supportive of community involvement in the arts in general: “Support is offered through various programs initiatives such as August Arts and various awards and opportunities to promote through the Wyndham Arts Magazine ad Arts Register.”

Support and interest in art among Australian’s however seems to be strong. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics up to $670 million was spent in one year on arts and crafts in Australia. A statistic that Julia Dunn, also a member of The Gallery who specialises in the design and fabrication of stained glass art, is impressed with and hopes will continue to rise. She explains that community events are the best opportunity for an artist to sell their work: “Until I started exhibiting at The Gallery I had never done solo showings before. It’s great exposure. One of my pieces sold the night of the exhibition at Steps.”

Julia, who is quite keen to enlighten anyone on the art of glass collages, and does so with infectious enthusiasm, was one of the few artists approached by Clare to exhibit at The Gallery three years ago. The usual process in becoming an exhibiting artist is to submit a portfolio of designs and the decision is made by Clare, with the help of the other members, as to whether the work is suitable to be displayed.

Working with glass since leaving high school, Julia has trained with internationally renowned glass artist Klaus Zimmer and has worked on many of his commissions including fabricating his design of ‘The Glass Tapestry’ for The Church of the Sacred Heart in Croydon, Victoria, and a commission for St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta, Sydney.

Most recently she was named a finalist at ‘She Who Explores’ competition for female artists at the Walker Street Gallery in Dandenong in March. “I was quite chuffed at that!” she adds excitedly, pointing to a selection of photos depicting her various creations.

She is also currently exhibiting a piece of work for Art in Public Places, an initiative coordinated by Hobsons Bay City Council which coincides with the Bayside and Williamstown festivals, in which the work of local artists is displayed at various businesses across the municipality. One of Julia’s creations is currently being displayed in a local picture framing store.

Art in Public Places has been running for four years, its purpose to promote small local businesses and artists, and their possible partnerships, within the Hobsons Bay region. In 2007 a record total of just over 12 000 artworks were sold according to the festival’s website.

In addition to her sculpturing talents, Julia is also accomplished in creating caricatures and talks of her experiences with a smile: “You have to learn not to be too kind when drawing a caricature. You just hope your subject has a sense of humor! I haven’t done anyone too famous, I think that they would probably prefer to stay away”, she chuckles heartily.

The inspiration for her latest work is drawn from a recent visit to Venice with her husband, which motivated her to create a glass collage sculpture which has been entered in the Toorak Sculpture Festival to be held throughout May. She explains the piece incorporates images symbolic of the Italian city: “I’ve included images of famous bridges, gondolas, the masks and the dome of St Mark’s among others.”

The inspiration of The Gallery’s artists does not seem to go unnoticed among the many visitors to The Gallery at Werribee South. Visitor and Werribee local, Christine, sums up what most locals might think of the community’s hidden gem:

“I just think that it’s refreshing to see a place like that, where the art displayed speaks for itself.

“Its also interesting to know what techniques are used to create the art and where the artists’ inspiration comes from. I also like the quietness of the place, it has a calming atmosphere.”

A visit to The Gallery at Werribee South must certainly inspire and motivate its visitors to unleash the creative within, and a conversation with any of the resident artists and a peek at their work would certainly start anyone’s creative juices flowing.

Stepping into a world of imaginative, innovative, and inspiring creations such as those at The Gallery must surely be the food of the soul.