The reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery (SRAG) at Weeroona Park in late July is being celebrated beyond the Southern Downs creative sector.
Located around 100 kilometres off the Cunningham Highway, ‘the heart of the Granite Belt’ has been offering invaluable opportunities for locals to learn about art and for artists from across Australia to exhibit in the region for nearly half a century.
President of the Stanthorpe Art Gallery Society, Christine Sayer, says of the uniquely community-run enterprise, ‘Is it primarily driven by volunteers? Absolutely, it is.
‘We’re a not-for-profit incorporated body, and Southern Downs Regional Council is our major sponsor. We have a strong and long relationship with the council. They provide us with a venue, which is this gallery space that has recently been extended.
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‘Each year there is an application process whereby we apply for a grant, which basically covers our two full-time staff members’ salaries,’ explains Sayer.
A prized collection born out of a produce festival
The naissance of the initiative took the form of an art prize founded in 1972, to coincide with the biennial Apple and Grape Harvest Festival.
According to Sayer, the now distinguished stand-alone biannual Stanthorpe Art Prize attracted around 900 entries this year.
Past category winners have included Canberra-based ceramicist Julie Pennington and Sydney-based painter Helen Olivia Redmond.
This cultural centre was purpose-built in 1986 to house the growing Southern Downs Regional Council’s collections of both books and artworks.
The 600-artwork collection is made up from acquisitions from the Stanthorpe Art Prize and some ‘important and generous’ donations, says Sayer.
Included is representation of the international iconoclast Pablo Picasso and celebrated Australian artists such as William Robinson, Charles Blackman and Margret Olley.
Prior to 1987, when the building was opened, SRAG was housed in a multipurpose council building room. The then new building had a purpose-built collection storage room.
‘The collection is worth just under $4 million,’ Sayer says. ‘We are the custodians and the caretakers of that collection… The dedicated conservation team meets every Tuesday morning.’
Sayer adds that while many members brought skills in ‘working with collections’, the gallery also upskills the enthusiastic volunteers with training workshops in conjunction with the Museums and Galleries Association Queensland.
Capacity building as an exhibition and education hub
In addition to a contribution of over $4 million by the Southern Downs Regional Council, the renovations were bolstered by $2 million from the Federal Government, through the Building Better Regions Fund.
SRAG has retained its three floors of climate-controlled exhibition, workshop and storage space, which collectively share an area of more than 130 square metres.
‘What was achieved in this renovation, primarily, is improved storage for the collection and it has given the gallery and library a refurb for the future,’ Sayer says.
‘We 1722248946 have a secure and spacious two-dimensional storage area and a conservation room where the team can work upstairs in the mezzanine, and downstairs we’ve got a three-dimensional storage area for sculptures and ceramics.
‘So, we’re really pleased with that outcome,’ concludes Sayer.
It is envisaged that the conservation room will improve access to the collection, ensure its provenance, and enable the negotiated study of artworks not on display.
Nurturing new talent
SRAG provides students from across the Southern Downs region with opportunities to both exhibit and experience artworks made by established practitioners first-hand.
Toowoomba-born visual artist and writer Dan Elborne says, ‘I remember going to Stanthorpe a few times as a teenager. But, it wasn’t until I started studying and identifying as an artist that I went there more regularly and visited the gallery.’
The former lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland dedicated a decade to his studies at the institution, beginning with a Bachelor of Creative Arts and finishing with a Doctor of Philosophy.
SRAG presented his artwork as part of Graduart 2014 in 2015, and the Stanthorpe Art Festival Exhibition in 2016.
He has since contributed to exhibitions held by Science Gallery Melbourne, Kafi Kiara (Iceland), Dipoli Gallery (Finland), Shiro Oni Studio Gallery (Japan) and The Clay Studio (US).
Elborne is especially ascendent within the field of ceramics, and presently features in SIXTY, a touring exhibition endorsed by the Journal of Australian Ceramics, the Australian Ceramics Association and the Australian Design Centre.
Elborne says of his work with SRAG, ‘Those exhibitions, like many of the ones I did in regional art galleries during my emerging years, have been very important to my development and voice as an artist.
‘Each one provided me with an increasing sense of confidence and calm… The public reception of the work has also greatly informed the longer-term, larger-scale projects that anchor my practice.’
A drawcard for creatives of all ages
The exhibitions and public programs of SRAG foster the creativity of residents from children to seniors.
The Crisps Youth Art Awards, an annual exhibition sponsored by Crisps’ coaches, has been running for 34 years. The program attracts over 1000 entries from school students all over the district.
The gallery is also a regular meeting place for artists, writers, choirs and musicians. And another group that frequents the premises is the Yarnies, who support social causes through knitting, crochet and sewing.
Stanthorpe Art Gallery Society has a membership of around 160 and a volunteer-base which, prior to the 2022 commencement of renovations, numbered around 60.
‘This place is so important to our volunteers – but they in turn are so important to the gallery, Sayer says. ‘This is why I am here – I feel I have skills I can offer and it’s a friendly, positive atmosphere to work in.’
Sayer is among the veterans of the museum and galleries sector who now reside in Stanthorpe and regularly contribute to the running of SRAG on a voluntary basis. She has previously held senior arts management and cultural development positions at Griffith University and the State Library of Queensland.
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Another volunteer, Rob Allen, was an exhibition designer and illustrator at Queensland Museum prior to running a boutique publishing business with the Stanthorpe Art Gallery Society Treasurer Adrian Ashman.
For those unable to move to this haven, SRAG still provides the perfect accompaniment to a day of tasting wine and cheese at local vineyards and dairies respectively.
The return on renovations to the SRAG and library building are broad reaching for the Southern Downs Regional Council, with the beneficiaries extending beyond its residents.
Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery reopened at Weeroona Park on Friday 26 July 2024, with the exhibition A Collection of Seasons.
