News - Daneka Hill
ART IN FULL BLOOM AT GALLERY OPENING
It was a night of blossoming and new beginnings at the official opening of the Port Hedland Courthouse Gallery+Studio.
Hundreds of residents and tourists soaked up the redecorated interiors as well as the artwork on July 19.
Closed for weeks by renovations, the gallery’s exhibition, titled BLOOM, was a first for new managers The Junction Co.
Another big first on the night was new commissioner Fredrick Riebeling, whose first official public act since being appointed was to declare the gallery open.
Mr Riebeling shared his fond memories of the building as a functioning courthouse in the 1980s when he was a court clerk in Karratha.
“I’m really happy (my first official event) is an arts event,” he said.
“I think the arts and culture are really cornerstones for a community. The hope one day is to have a Port Hedland-recognised product, as such.
“Places like Broome have got it, but that’s the sort of thing we want.”
The Junction Co. executive officer Katie Evans said there was now a rentable photography studio, a workspace for an artist in residence, and a tech lab fitted into the gallery.
The Junction Co. chairwoman Miranda Cecich said the night was not just about The Junction’s first gallery, but also regional creatives.
The seven artists who feature in BLOOM were selected because of their use of flowers and new beginnings in their art.
