Griffith Regional Art Gallery

About the Gallery

Griffith Regional Art Gallery was officially opened on September 9, 1983. The gallery is centrally located in the main shopping centre, and occupies a leased space in the eastern wing of the significant 1939 Art Deco War Memorial Building. The gallery, although small, has a lovely sense of space due to the 4.2 metre high ceilings and natural timber floors of cypress and tallow wood. The Gallery has a single exhibition space which shows a variety of touring exhibitions, communtiy exhibitions, exhibitions featuring our Couture Collection or National Contemporary Jewellery Collection and regional artists. The Gallery also coordinates two other exhibition spaces within Griffith at Griffith Regional Theatre and Griffith City Council which generally feature work by local artists and are two spaces that are worth a look. The Gallery’s annual public program offers a diverse range of activities for littlie right up to the curious adult or professional artist which are aimed to educate and stimulate.The Griffith Regional Art Gallery represents the creative face of not just this town, but the wider Riverina. It is the only Regional Gallery between Wagga Wagga, NSW on one side and Broken Hill, NSW on the other.

Collection Strengths

The Griffith Regional Art Gallery is the proud owner of the National Contemporary Jewellery Collection, the only collection of its kind in Australia.The Collection was started in 1988 after the success of a contemporary jewellery exhibition project titled Imagination and Metapor. Several pieces by some of Australia’s best contemporary jewellery practitioners where purchased to start the collection which has been growing ever since.The National Contemporary Jewellery Award was started by the Griffith Regional Art Gallery in 1992 to support the development of the collection and also to promote the contemporary practices that are used by practitioners across the country. The former Friends of the Griffith Regional Art Gallery were significant players in the establishment of the collection for Griffith by purchasing one or several entries from the Award each year. Today the Griffith City Council is the sponsor of the $7,000 prize money given to the winner of the National Contemporary Jewellery Award which occurs biennially.

Programming Strengths

Griffith Regional Art Gallery has an exhibition program of between 8 and 10 exhibitions per year with complementing public programs, workshops, floor talks and lectures. The Gallery offer school term based workshops such as life evening drawing session and after school art classes for primary school students. The Gallery offers school holiday workshops based on current exhibitions. ArtSpace at Griffith Regional Theatre also provides and exhibition space for local Artists with and annual program of 6 exhibitions per year. Griffith Regional Art Gallery also hold annual art and craft markets support the regions local makers.

Exhibition Spaces

The gallery is centrally located in the main shopping center, and occupies a leased space in the eastern wing of the significant 1939 Art Deco War Memorial Building. The gallery, although small, has a lovely sense of space due to the 4.2 metre high ceilings and natural timber floors of cypress and tallow wood. The Gallery has a single exhibition space which shows a variety of touring exhibitions, community exhibitions.