Gallery calls for help to realise exhibition

ARTS lovers are being asked to help bring a major summer exhibition to life, with a $50,000 fundraising push now under way ahead of its November opening.

Geelong Gallery has launched its annual appeal to support an exhibition of work by Australian artist Eric Thake.

Thake worked across painting, photography and collage, using everyday subjects and optical illusion to challenge how viewers see familiar scenes.

Gallery chief executive Humphrey Clegg said delivering exhibitions of this scale required significant investment.

“Our goal is to present the highest quality exhibitions for the Geelong community,” he said.

“We are delighted to have two highly regarded curators who are Thake experts leading the exhibition, and we will be home to artwork loans from all around the country, which our visitors would have to travel to see otherwise.”

The artist has a longstanding connection to the gallery and the region. His first solo exhibition was held there in 1976, and the institution later acquired his extensive Christmas card suite in 1986. In 2024, it added his 1976 painting Brasilia at Corio as part of the Geelong Art Gallery Foundation’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

While the exhibition will proceed regardless, Clegg said falling short of the fundraising target would mean scaling it back.

“This would be incredibly disappointing because this is a great Geelong story, and it will be the best opportunity to tell Thake’s story for many years to come,” he said.

“We want to give it the best shot we can today for our visitors.”

Each year, the gallery directs its appeal towards a specific project. Past campaigns have supported exhibitions featuring major Australian artists including Janenne Eaton, Richard Lewer, Cressida Campbell, Margaret Preston and Clarice Beckett.

Clegg said, as an independent not-for-profit, the gallery relied on community and philanthropic support to sustain its work.

“We are really proud that we are open seven days a week and are free for all to visit,” he said. “But we have significant overheads, and we look after our nationally significant collection not just for today’s audiences, but for those tomorrow and even hundreds of years into the future.

“There is a clash between the access we can provide and the funding we receive, so our organisation requires significant investment.

“There is always more we can do to make a greater impact in the community, now and into the future, and we are always looking for partners to help us.”

For more information, head to geelonggallery.org.au