‘We are thrilled’: Gallery doors are set to reopen after forced closure

Art lovers were left disappointed when water damage forced the unceremonious closure – but things are getting well back on track.

2021 Saltwater Freshwater Aboriginal Arts Award Finalist, Brentyn Lugnan with Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery curator, Chloe Waters in front of fellow 2021 finalist Y.O.W.A's Window Thief 2020. Photo: Brendan Ray

After a burst water pipe forced the unceremonious closure of Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery over two months ago, things are getting back on track just in time to celebrate the gallery’s 20th Anniversary year.

The damage caused the burst pipe in the Rigby House building has been repaired and a reopening date has been set for June 12 – and Gallery Curator Chloe Waters revealed there’s an enticing program of exhibitions to come.

Ms Waters said staff had been busy preparing behind the scenes to reschedule the 20th Anniversary program.

“It has certainly been an eventful twenty years, and we’re so appreciative of our community and exhibiting artists for their ongoing support particularly during the last couple of months as we work to relaunch our 2021 program,” she said.

From June 12, visitors to the gallery will be able to view the relaunched 2021 Saltwater Freshwater Aboriginal Art Award and Contemporary Cultural Objects Exhibition.

The exhibition marks the third time the gallery has partnered with Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance, celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture from across the region – spanning the Worimi, Biripi, Dunghutti and Gumbaynggirr nations.

Liz Ann MacGregor, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, will announce the STILL: National Still Life Award 2021 major prize winner in August. Picture by Nic Walker

Next on the program will be the gallery’s signature art prize, STILL: National Still Life Award 2021, which will open in August.

Despite being a relative newcomer on the Coffs Coast arts scene, the biennial art award continues to draw high profile names to the region.

The $30,000 major prize will be announced on August 14 by guest judge, renowned curator and director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE (pictured above).

Ms McGregor is known for successfully transforming the MCA into a thriving public gallery, and her contribution to the arts has been recognised with the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award in 2009 and an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2011.

The exhibition of finalists will run until October 23.

“This is our third STILL and it’s our biggest and best yet” Gallery Curator, Ms Waters said.

“We’ve had a record number of entries from around the country and we can’t wait to announce our finalists soon and showcase the diversity of still life come August.”

White Bluff, snapped by Martin Van Veluwen. The local White Bluff Project, which has been years in the works, has been rescheduled to run between October 2021 and January 2022 at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.

Closing out the program is The White Bluff Project, which has been rescheduled to be the gallery’s homegrown summer blockbuster exhibition.

The local art, science and community collaboration project centre around the significant but often overlooked site of White Bluff, north of Coffs Harbour.

Ms Waters said the project has been years in the making.

“What an absolutely fitting close for our anniversary year, showcasing a unique, artist-led project born right here in Coffs Harbour that resonates far further abroad,” she said.

The White Bluff project will run from October 30 to January 15, 2022.

Art lovers can also still have a browse of the Culture Hub’s current exhibition celebrating Woolgoolga’s Sikh heritage and culture, dubbed Early Settlers to Bridal Glamour.

It is showing at the gallery’s pop-up space on level one of Coffs Central until Saturday, May 29.