NOW OPEN: Look inside $3m gallery redevelopment
Packed Cartoon Gallery for Bill Leak exhibition launch in brand new space
Coffs Harbour
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With works of one of Australia's most celebrated - and controversial - cartoonists adorning the walls, there couldn't have been a more fitting opening this fabulous redevelopment.
Costing more than $3 million dollars and made possible with a significant grant from Create NSW, the huge new National Cartoon Gallery space with a theatrette and cafe is a sight to behold and well-worthy of Australia's best cartoons.
Any thought the new space might somehow overshadow the unique and wonderful World War II bunker upon which it's built evaporates at the entrance as patrons get a view of the polished exterior of the original concrete behemoth.
It is hard to imagine how the designers could have incorporated the original bunker into its design any better, with the new gallery not only replicating the original's shape but featuring three of its ventilation shafts smack bang in the middle of the floor.
The opening night of the Bill Leak exhibition was a huge success, with a big crowd streaming in to check out the works of the acclaimed cartoonist. The exhibition also features works from his son Johannes Leak.
Gallery president Paul McKeon said the opening was well and truly a team effort and "a great day for our city".
Just hours before, the team of dedicated Cartoon Gallery volunteers were busy getting every artwork hung and ready for the main event.
"It's a beautiful building, inside and out. We couldn't be happier with the result," he said.
"It's a fabulous building for the city and we are delighted to give it to the Coffs Harbour community."
Bill Leak's friend and biographer Fred Pawl was on hand to officially open the exhibition and the journalist had the crowd in stitches as he shared anecdotes from the life of the late cartoonist.
But it was his rallying cry to the audience regarding the threat to "Aussie larrikinism" which had many nodding in agreement.
Mr Pawl said galleries like the NCG were helping to keep it alive against a rising tide of "political correctness and wokeism".
And Mr Leak's willingness to push boundaries in his work, challenging people's conceptions of what was considered 'politically correct' are well and truly on show throughout the exhibition.
Even his most controversial work, a cartoon depicting two Aboriginal men which caused considerable outrage and led to Mr Leak being branded a racist, is featured prominently.
The polarising image is placed next to a series of cartoons he created as commentary on the furore and when viewed with others which have Mr Leak's detractors firmly the crosshairs, visitors are left with no doubt of his stance on what could be best described as 'freedom of expression'.
Gallery manager Margaret Cameron said the exhibition is the first of its kind in Australia and being the home of cartooning, it was natural that it should be shown at the NCG.
Featuring more than 150 works, the collections also includes some striking caricatures which have been loaned to the gallery from his family.
"Bill Leak was an important voice in cartooning in Australia," she said.
"This is the first outside viewing of a lovely collection of works."
The Bill Leak exhibition runs until May 30 and the National Cartoon Gallery is open seven days a week from 10am to 4pm.
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