Western Plains Cultural Centre

About the Gallery

The heart of culture in the central west, the Western Plains Cultural Centre includes a Gallery, Museum and Community Art Centre. Presenting cutting edge exhibitions and programs, the Western Plains Cultural Centre aims, to challenge, connect and reflect our community and share the culture of Western NSW with our visitors. Home to the Dubbo Regional Gallery, Dubbo Regional Museum and Community Arts Centre, the WPCC opened in 2006 and has since welcomed over 1 million visito

Collection Strengths

Western Plains Cultural Centre is home to two unique collections, The Dubbo Regional Gallery Art Collection established in 1989 and the Dubbo Regional Museum Heritage Collection established in 1954.

The Dubbo Regional Museum Collection was established in 1954 by Andy Graham, who began collecting objects in his backyard shed in Wingewarra Street. The collection has developed to reflect the many different roles that Dubbo has played over its almost 170 year history. From objects of agricultural or technological development, those belonging to pioneers and entrepreneurs, to the prized possessions of people who were born and bred in Dubbo, raised families, ran businesses and became part of its invisible fabric.

Dubbo Regional Gallery’s prime collecting theme is The Animal in Art. Inspired by the Gallery’s rural location and proximity to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, the Animal in Art seeks to examine issues surrounding the representation of animals in the Visual Arts. The Animal has been used extensively as a symbol, trophy, object and metaphor. The collection tackles some of the wider possibilities of this rationale through works that use the animal as a means of expression whether in a literal or metaphoric way. Dubbo Regional Gallery also collects works by artists from the Orana Region.

Programming Strengths

With a commitment to showing a diversity of creative forms and curatorial concepts, the WPCC works to program exhibitions and events that bring contemporary experiences of Australia to regional NSW and provide the community with access to the best in art practice from across the nation.

Exhibition Spaces

Dubbo Regional Gallery features 706m² of exhibition space that can be formed into a range of exhibition spaces. The Gallery hosts large national and state touring exhibitions and a range in-house curated exhibitions. With space dedicated to regional artists through our HomeGround program, the exhibition spaces can be adapted to present any scale of exhibitions.