Red doors swing open at Eagles Nest

The birds are chirping over at Eagles Nest Fine Art Gallery after its red doors were re-opened on Saturday for the first time since closing in March.

Gallery assistant and metalwork artist Cinnamon Stephens said during the closure, she and Eagles Nest owner Bruno Rocchi used the “gift of time” to update the space’s tired online presence.

This involved creating artist profiles for each of the gallery’s exhibitors and displaying what would have been physical showcases as virtual ones.

“Even though I had plenty of work to keep myself busy in the studio, I wanted to help other artists who rely on galleries and markets because their revenues dried up overnight.

“I was pretty keen to renew our website, so while I was doing that, Bruno was building new display furniture.

“It took a bit of time but it gave me some focus. We want to keep promoting it because once you get online, anyone can access it at any time and from anywhere in the world.”

The website’s relaunch saw a rebrand, with local artist Jiri Tibor Novak assigned the task of designing a new logo that celebrates the striking building.

Ms Stephens said some landscaping work had also been carried out, and that her sculptures would be presented in the gallery’s courtyard garden.

“Bruno knew just the person to ask and that was Jiri. He came back with a fantastic quirky interpretation of the gallery itself, which is an architecturally designed purpose space.

“Interestingly enough, his (Jiri’s) is one of the first pieces we sold over the weekend.”

Ms Stephens, who is also the secretary of Geelong Sculptors Inc., said her efforts had been well received by fellow artists.

“Artists are very happy with the result. It also gave us a chance to reach out to some fresh artists (including Nerina Lascelles, Peta Uthmeyer and Anita Barrett) and focus more on local art.

“I kind of feel artists or creative people are custom built for isolation. I found once the external things were removed, the obligations to perhaps participate in a market or upcoming exhibition, I had all this time to do the work I should be doing.

“It’s made me reassess how I’ll commit to things in the future.”

The gallery will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-4pm.

Ms Stephens said the number of people in the gallery at one time would be monitored and reflect the latest government advice.

Hand sanitiser is being offered upon arrival.

Eagles Nest Fine Art Gallery is located at 48 Great Ocean Road, Aireys Inlet.

To check out the gallery’s new website, head to eaglesnestgallery.com.au.