Gallery wins award

Mount Gambier gallery Little Blue Wren was awarded the Hither & Yon Award for their curation of this year’s SALA award winning exhibition Forgotten Fables of the South East by Tyson Jay Brant.

The Hither & Yon Award is awarded to a venue that has exceeded expectations in supporting artists exhibiting during SALA Festival 2023. This can be in areas such as installation support, promotion of the artist, community engagement, visitor experience, and more.

In awarding the prize, Malcolm Leask from Hither & Yon said on behalf of the judges that they were impressed by the family- run venue’s incredible efforts in planning, promoting, and running the exhibition, but also their commitment to elevating a local emerging artist.

“Tyson Brant originally inquired about displaying a canvas or two but was supported and mentored by Tabitha and Gareth of Little Blue Wren to develop his debut solo exhibition, Forgotten Fables of the South-East,” the judges said.

“The exhibition was impactful, inclusive and community-building in a way that is only possible when a venue respectfully nurtures the artist, being a strong advocate for them.”

Gallery owner Gareth Williams said they were humbled and thrilled to receive the award. “We are grateful to the talented artists we are privileged to collaborate with and for the support of our community and customers who have made this recognition possible,” he said.

A family run business, Little Blue Wren is dedicated to promoting the works of local makers, creators, artists and artisans. The gallery is located on the main street of Mount Gambier and offers a beautiful gallery space to showcase local artist’s works and provides affordable workshops to the community, run by local artists.

“We are very proud of what we have achieved over the past 12 months of business. We are dedicated to fostering community creativity, supporting local artists, and providing a cultural experiences for our visitors,” Gareth said.

“This validation by SALA will give us even more motivation to keep pushing the boundaries of the art world by curating thought-provoking exhibitions that challenge conventional norms and inspire dialogue.

“Our plan is for Little Blue Wren to be a hub for creativity and a vital part of the Limestone Coast’s cultural landscape.”

It was just over 12 months ago that Gareth and Tabitha took the plunge to open their own gallery space, with Tabitha earmarked as the artistic talent and Gareth providing the brains and brawn.

The couple converted what was an online store into the new look gallery and gift shop.

The search for that perfect space started with small shopfronts as purely a studio space but then its current site caught the eye and given its rapid expansion, it proved a fortuitous decision.

With a more spacious site secured, Gareth and Tabitha’s vision for a bricks and mortar project soon evolved from purely a space for Tabitha to create her own pieces.

A visit to an Artisan Market at the Cave Gardens also inspired the couple, who saw first hand just how much artistic and creative talent was right on their new doorstep. “We thought let’s not just create, let’s starting exhibiting work,” Gareth said. “Let’s open up the space to local talent not just in Mount Gambier but in the region. Let’s give everyone a platform to exhibit their work and get their creations out there in the world.” Recruiting that local talent started with a social media campaign.

“We made a lot of connections with artists and local makers and we just kept getting approached by more people,” Gareth said. “Securing this new space enables us to now provide three gallery spaces for artists to exhibit their work, and we have also created six dedicated studio spaces for artists to hire. It is our hope to establish a creative community space for artists to gather, share and collaborate.

“We have a really big focus on pushing local talent, artists and makers, and giving the community the chance to buy local work. It’s about making art accessible and getting it out there so the community can engage with it.”

“At Little Blue Wren we believe that the arts have the capacity to brings us all together; it changes us and changes our communities. Therefore, we want the arts, and our space to be accessible to everyone.”

And it was that philosophy that saw the couple open up their space to Tyson Jay Brant and mentor him through the exhibition process with both the gallery and artist now having received awards for the SALA exhibition.