Bendigo Art Gallery Annual Report 2015/2016

Bendigo Art Gallery
4
Chairman’s Report
Dear Members,
It is a privilege and a pleasure to submit this report
to you on the activities of the Board of Directors
during 2015/16.
Once again the successful pattern of recent
years was adopted, with an outstanding array
of exhibitions, including Hiding in Plain Sight: A
selection of works from the Michael Buxton Collection;
Ink Remix: Contemporary art from mainland China,
Taiwan, and Hong Kong and Out of Winter by Karen
Annett-Thomas. Also during the year the 2015
Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, initiated by Mr
Allen Guy CBE in honour of his brother Arthur, was
successfully held, with the strong support of the
Guy family. Undoubtedly the highlight of the year
has been the Marilyn Monroe exhibition, which came
about through a collaboration between Bendigo Art
Gallery and Twentieth Century Fox. I simply cannot
find the words to fully acknowledge the efforts
of key staff in bringing this exhibition to Bendigo.
The attendance figures from the opening function
in early March have lived up to all estimates, with
every indication that the final numbers will justify
our expectations, and will, once again, be a major
boost to our well-deserved national respect, and to
the Bendigo economy. A feature of the exhibition
has been the eight metre Forever Marilyn sculpture,
proudly on display at the entry to Rosalind Park,
which has attracted a constant stream of onlookers,
and countless photo opportunities.
Another feature of the Marilyn Monroe exhibition
was that, because of the new Gallery spaces that
have been built in recent years, thanks to the
ongoing financial support received from all levels of
Government, a significant portion of the permanent
works have been on display, and changed regularly,
so that visitors can enjoy both the exhibition and
some of the finest works in our collection. A feature
of this has been the significant advantage of having
all of the collection stored on site, in the proper
conditions and fully catalogued, so that rotation
of works on display is feasible and practical.
It is a testimony to the Gallery’s well-deserved
reputation that the attendance figures for the
year reached 213,779, a significant increase
on the past two to three years.
Two areas of focus for the Board are to provide
financial assistance as required towards the cost of
major exhibitions, and for the acquisition of prestigious
works to add to the permanent collection. The most
significant of these for this year was by Sally Gabori.
In accordance with our standard policy, this item
and other acquisitions were then gifted to the City
of Greater Bendigo for the benefit of all citizens.
In recognition of the support that he gave to Bendigo
Art Gallery during his time as a Senior Executive at
the City of Greater Bendigo, in his role as Director, City
Futures, the Board recognised Stan Liacos with the
awarding of a Life Governorship. Well deserved, Stan.
How fortunate we are to have the services of our
volunteers, in particular the Friends of the Gallery,
and the Gallery Guides. While my thanks, and those of