Small celebration for big city icon

IT’S been a firm fixture on the east side of Lydiard Street North since mid-1890 and become the cultural heart of the city.

Now the Art Galley of Ballarat has marked 130 years since opening its main building with a small acknowledgment last Saturday.

“We were looking forward to inviting Ballarat join us to celebrate this amazing old building, which has really been the beating heart of Ballarat’s cultural life for 130 years, and that had to be put on hold,” said Louise Tegart, director of the Art Galley of Ballarat.

“We are very excited that this anniversary comes at a time when we are about to re-open to the public on 1 July, and we will be able to reach out to the people of Ballarat once again.”

The icon, designed by Ballarat architect William Tappin, first opened to the public on 13 June 1890 as just the main building and the upstairs exhibition space, now known as the Oddie Gallery.

Until that time the art collection had been on display in Her Majesty’s Theatre, but the Gallery Association took on the job of funding and creating a purpose built home for the artworks.

“The building is important to the Association because it was the Association that secured the land and built the building, and established the Gallery’s collection,” said Pamela Foulkes, vice-president of the Association.

“It’s a space that enhances one’s life. You can come in to the Gallery escape from what’s happening outside and really enjoy experiencing works of beauty and skill, which was the intention of the original Association committee.”

Since 1890 the Gallery has expanded its overall footprint five times to include multiple exhibition spaces and retail outlets.

Ms Tegart said the building’s importance went well beyond Ballarat.

“This is the oldest, purpose-built gallery in regional Australia, and we’re still the largest,” she said. “It’s really important in the network of galleries across the country.

“The spaces are all very different and they’ve all been designed for different types of art.”

The Association ran the Gallery until the late 1970s, before handing it over to the City of Ballarat.

However, the group still has a strong involvement with the space.

“One of the key things about this Gallery is that it came out of people’s wish and desire for a space. It wasn’t a government initiative,” Ms Tegart said.

“And that’s what’s so fantastic about our association, it’s the largest friends of a regional gallery group in the country. It’s that passion of people believing in the power of art to transform people’s lives.”

Ms Foulkes said the Association’s involvement with the Gallery was a strong and as meaningful today as it was over 130 years ago.

“We’ve got just over 2000 members and in lots of ways there are the lifeblood of the Gallery,” she said.

“We support the gallery in a number of ways; financially, though acquisition of artworks, we also provide volunteers to assist at functions, and produce the quarterly magazine Untitled.

“We really see it as on ongoing role to support the gallery in as many ways as possible.”

Still currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Art Gallery of Ballarat will reopen from 1 July.

“I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on what does it mean to have an empty gallery and I think the art doesn’t exist until somebody’s looking at it and engaging with it,” Ms Tegart said.

“We can’t be a gallery and can’t fulfill or mission without people. We’re really excited about welcoming the public back in.”