artCollectiveWA Down South

The artCollectiveWA began as a response to major commercial galleries in Perth closing over a sobering twelve-month period during 2012 and 2013 leaving these artists without WA gallery representation and promotion, storage and exhibition space. The artists had to come up with a new model if they wanted to continue showing their work in WA.

With the support of Mossenson Galleries/Indigenart, the Collective took up residence in one third of the Indigenart space in Subiaco. The enterprise is set up as a not-for-profit, membership-based organisation with a current board of eight member-artists. This makes the collective artist-run with a commercial gallery focus through Felicity Johnston as Director. Members fulfil organisational responsibilities to reap the collective benefits. Their current vision is an open and inclusive one which aims to exhibit and promote senior and mid- career artists locally, nationally and internationally, and to run an ongoing series of exhibitions, residencies, publications and education programs in order to encourage discussion and support for the arts in WA. Interstate, international and emerging artists will be invited to participate in the program, adding to the depth of activities on offer.

The idea of having an exhibition down south for artCollectiveWA came out of our desire to show our appreciation of and our support for these artists and their efforts. For so many years, along with a mass of visual art lovers across the metropolitan area, we had taken for granted their self-driven production of new works and the regular exhibitions that followed with their representing galleries. We recognized the dilemma they found themselves in and we respected the initiative they’d shown.
The collective was on board when we put the proposal to them. It presented an opportunity for them to show the Collective artists together at once, room for very large works to be displayed and an interstate and international audience passing through the gallery. The exhibition would have a four month long duration which would give very good exposure.

Artists: Merrick Belyea, Penny Bovell, Paul Caporn, Penny Coss, Jo Darbyshire, Sarah Elson, Caspar Fairhall, Chris Hopewell, Jeremy Kirwan-Ward, Eveline Kotai, Joanna Lamb, Andre Lipscombe, Lesley Munro, Antony Muia, Ron Nyisztor, Kevin Robertson, Helen Smith, Alex Spremberg, Angela Stewart, Michele Theunissen, Paul Uhlmann, Trevor Vickers and Peter Zappa.

For the gallery it presented a unique opportunity to show the works of these twenty-three artists together, for the enjoyment of Vasse Felix visitors and the wider local audience. The exhibition, intense and visually stunning, stands as a tribute to the continuing presence of this particular group of artists in the West Australian visual arts scene.

For interviews, further information and images available for reproduction, contact Sharon Tassicker.

Image: Joanna Lamb Suburban House 04  2014, acrylic on canvas, 122  x 180 cm. Courtesy and copyright the artist