I had been thinking of the concept of an artist run gallery for quite a while, and in 1996 I approached fellow artists with the idea. The response was encouraging. I felt there was a need for an alternative to the Bega Regional Gallery, and other art spaces which were more shops than galleries. A gallery that would encourage emerging and established artists to explore all manner of media, curate their own exhibitions, and in the process develop their own professional practice, while raising the profile of their art and the art of local and interstate artists generally. I spoke to Jude Lamb (who remains the longest serving member of Spiral) and she was as keen as I was to open a Gallery. She knew of a space for rent at 209 Carp Street, and so the adventure began. We invited 3 practising artists to meet with us at this space – they were Moira Turnbull (ceramics) Tanja Riese (printmaking) and Liz Doyle (weaving). Liz was unable to commit at the time, but Moira and Tanja did, and we set about to develop the space ready for an opening in January 1997.
I investigated the name Spiral Gallery, and the closest name to that was Spiral Arm Gallery in Canberra, so we were able to register the name. During the Xmas break of 1996/7 we painted, sanded and varnished floors, connected the phone, electricity, and all those other things necessary to starting a business. At the same time we were all madly producing work for the opening, which took place on Friday January 24th 1997. We worked right up to the last minute, so much so that people started arriving before we managed to get the ladder out. So the ladder remained during Veronica O’Leary’s opening speech until Janette Crowe asked if it was part of the exhibition! It was a great start and for the next 2 years Spiral openings became the highlight of the social calendar. Tanja became pregnant around this time, and with a toddler to look after as well, this meant that we were down to 3 active members who were able to man and do the day to day running of the gallery. The Gallery joined LETS so we could have sitters to replace us when necessary, and thus began the long relationship with gallery sitters, in particular Georgie Bourke. We also developed exhibitions where work could be sold on Sapphs to cover our LETS debts. These exhibitions were very popular.
The rent of the gallery was paid by the 4 members and the foundation of the gallery was built on this financial input, and commitment to making the gallery work. Jude and I also took on the rental of the flat and side rooms, so we could run workshops which were a part of Studio 209. The original intent of the gallery was to create a working artist space, where people could view the artist at work, as well as visit a highly professional art gallery. Although the stairs were a problem, the actual ambience of the gallery was special, and many an after party was held out the back in what was dubbed the Paris end of town. The exhibitions held in that first year were a great example of the quality and variety this type of gallery could bring to Bega, (Virginia Kaiser; Belinda Ramson; Cheryl Bridgart), and it has continued to this day. In 1998 Paul Callaghan developed the Spiral Gallery website, and many national and international Art magazines were aware of what was happening at Spiral. I noticed that the Meroogal Womens Art Prize toured, and offered Spiral Gallery as one of the venues. This was taken up, and as a result local people are now able to see the work of Women from the Illawarra.
In my time at Spiral we endeavoured to build the membership, but due to the expectation of financial input for rent, it was harder to attract artists who could make that commitment. But the ones who did were Jude Lamb (textiles) Moira Turnbull (ceramics) Tanja Riese (printmaking), Liz Doyle (weaving)Jane dwyer (sculpture) Max Sparrow (metal) Caroline Ceylon (fabric printing) Karen Smith (ceramics), Sian Thomas (wood block prints) Kath McCann (drawing/ceramics), Anna Senior (textiles) and barb troughear crowden (paper/paper clay raku). In 1999 Spiral moved to 47 Church Street, and a ground floor space it occupies successfully to this day.
In 1996 I planted a seed, which has grown into a beautiful tree. I am so grateful to all of the hardworking ‘gardeners’ who have nurtured this tree over the many years of its growth. May it become a landmark, sheltering artists of all persuasions for many years to come.
Thank you to the dedicated and highly professional collective, and their very generous benefactor for keeping the spirit of Spiral alive.
barb troughear crowden/Founding Member and Director.
barb troughear crowden - works in paper & paperclay raku
PO Box 440 Bega 2550 NSW Australia
02 64927318
barb@pulpaddictionpaper.com.au
pulpaddictionpaper.com.au
© barb troughear crowden 2004