Geelong Gallery annual report 2011–2012 Geelong Gallery annual report 2011–2012 Geelong Contents Gallery President’s report 02 Little Malop Street Director’s report 04 Geelong 3220 T 03 5229 3645 Honorary Secretary’s report 08 Open daily 10am–5pm The Geelong Art Gallery Foundation 20 Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, The Geelong Gallery Grasshoppers 22 New Year’s Day and Good Friday Friends of the Geelong Gallery 24 www.geelonggallery.org.au Collections report 28 Financial statements for 38 the year ended 30 June 2012 Government partners and sponsors 52 COVER Arthur Streeton Ocean blue, Lorne (detail) 1921 oil on canvas Collection: Geelong Gallery Purchased with funds generously provided by Geelong Art Gallery Foundation, Robert Salzer Foundation Art Program, Geelong Community Foundation, Will and Dorothy Bailey Charitable Gift, and numerous individual donors, 2011 Geelong Gallery annual report 2011–2012 02 Geelong Gallery annual report 2011–2012 03 President’s report It is my pleasure to report that the 2011–2012 An estimate of the total value of new The Gallery was host venue during the year In recent months we have been fortunate year was, once again, a year of creative acquisitions—including gifts, purchases and for functions convened variously by the City to make two new significant appointments activities and positive outcomes for the bequests—approved in the 2011–2012 financial of Greater Geelong, the Geelong Chamber to the Gallery’s staff. Melissa Hart has taken Geelong Gallery. year is in the order of $500,000. of Commerce, the Committee for Geelong, up the new position of Marketing and Public the Transport Accident Commission, and other Programs Co-ordinator and, more recently During this time the Gallery presented some The single most valuable and notable of these business and community organisations. still, Richard Ferguson will commence in 23 exhibitions, 18 of which were generated acquisitions being, not surprisingly, Ocean blue, September as Development and Business by staff members, a high percentage for any Lorne (1921) by Arthur Streeton for which The Geelong Gallery continued and continues Manager working both on behalf of the Gallery regional gallery, with the exhibitions Reflections acquisition we warmly acknowledge the to pursue the long-term vision of a significantly and the Foundation. We look forward to their of the soul—Chinese contemporary ink wash Geelong Art Gallery Foundation, the Geelong expanded facility in terms, initially, of the doubtless significant and keenly awaited painting and In search of the picturesque— Community Foundation, the Robert Salzer opportunity presented by the neighbouring contributions to the effective operation the architectural ruin in art being particularly Foundation Art Program, the Will and Dorothy redevelopment of the Geelong Library and and growth of the institution. ambitious initiatives for a gallery and staff Bailey Charitable Gift, as well as numerous Heritage Centre, and looking further ahead, of this size, and yet both were developed, individual donors. of the more substantial opportunities that Thanks are due of course to the President managed and presented to considerable would arise with the eventual amalgamation and committee of the Geelong Gallery acclaim. We welcomed a number of distinguished of the Gallery and City Hall buildings, or initially Grasshoppers, to the President and committee special guests at the Gallery during the part of City Hall. of the Friends of the Geelong Gallery, to the Some 38 public programs and 26 education past year including the Victorian Governor, Chairman and Board of the Geelong Art Gallery programs were delivered in support of the the Hon Alex Chernov and Mrs Chernov, We acknowledge with sincere appreciation Foundation, to all our Volunteers, Guides and exhibition program and, in the case of the members of the federal and state governments, the largesse of all our corporate and occasional helpers, to my colleagues on the education programs, mounted in support of and we were delighted also to welcome the community sponsors, of the Victorian Gallery Board, to all our donors of works of art, our serious commitment to primary, secondary Duke and Duchess of Somerset on a private Government and above all, the support of and not least to the Director and staff team. and tertiary students across our region. visit to inspect the collections. Similarly, we our principal government partner, the City were very pleased to host various speeches, of Greater Geelong whose representative on These schools programs and workshops are lectures and talks given in the Gallery by, the Gallery’s Board, Cr Barbara Abley AM DSJ conceived and delivered with the support of amongst other dignitaries, the Hon Simon FRCNA, deserves special mention not only for the Victorian Department of Early Childhood Crean, Federal Minister for Regional Australia, her advocacy over many years on the Gallery’s Development and Training, with the additional Regional Development and Local Government, behalf, but particularly in view of Barbara’s support of Deakin University, Alcoa Australia, and Minister for the Arts. The Minister officially decision not to re-nominate for Council. And so and the Geelong Advertiser. We are grateful opened the Reflections of the soul exhibition we place on record here our gratitude for Cr to each of these partners for their generous for which event we also had in attendance Abley’s contribution to the life and prosperity financial and in-kind support. Mr Fan Dian, Director of the National Art of the Gallery and, of course, to the wellbeing Museum of China along with senior members of the wider community. The Honorary Secretary’s report records of his staff, representatives of the Chinese the essential statistics in respect of the year’s Embassy in Canberra and the Chinese Likewise, I record our appreciation of the keen performance, the Treasurer will table the Consulate in Melbourne. interest in and commitment to Gallery audited financial report for the past year programs and prospects demonstrated by Peter McMullin and the Director will comment a little more Distinguished visitors to the Gallery included Geelong’s Deputy Mayor, Cr Cameron Granger, President on the artistic programs and selected recent Dr Patrick Greene OBE, Director of Museum who has enthusiastically and most proficiently acquisitions. In spite of our eternally limited Victoria; Dr Gerard Vaughan AM, Director deputised for Cr Abley on various occasions funds for new acquisitions, the Gallery has of the National Gallery of Victoria; and the throughout the year. actively solicited gifts of works of art in different prominent Sydney-based collectors, Colin media that add great lustre to the collection, and Elizabeth Laverty, who kindly lent works with several of these acquisitions negotiated from their remarkable collection of Indigenous under the terms of the Commonwealth and non-Indigenous Australian art for an Government’s Cultural Gifts Program. exhibition at the beginning of this calendar year. Other works were acquired by bequest or through the Gallery’s nationally acclaimed acquisitive print awards. Geelong Gallery annual report 2011–2012 04 Geelong Gallery annual report 2011–2012 05 Director’s report As mentioned in the President’s report, Subsequently, and in collaboration with the In search of the picturesque greatly benefited In the face of conspicuously ‘fierce by far one of the most ambitious ventures Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale, the Geelong Gallery from the generous co-operation of the State competition’ from a range of bidders at undertaken by the Gallery in recent times was presented (as the exhibition’s principal venue), Library of Victoria, which lent a suite of rare a Sotheby‘s (Australia) auction in late 2011, the mounting, in collaboration with the National the first-ever survey of the painting, drawing prints by the great Italian printmaker and ‘ruins’ the Gallery successfully bid on Arthur Art Museum of China (NAMoC) in Beijing, of and prints of an important colonial artist. Titled specialist—once dubbed the ‘Rembrandt of the Streeton’s painting Ocean blue, Lorne (1921), the exhibition Reflections of the soul—Chinese Nicholas Chevalier—Australian odyssey, the ruins’—Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778). the most important and arresting work contemporary ink wash painting. A daunting exhibition included significant and generous Many of these works had never previously executed in the wider Geelong region by initiative for any regional gallery given the loans from numerous collecting institutions and been seen on public display. Australia‘s best-known landscape painter, logistical, organisational and diplomatic private collections around Australia. This was and the Gallery’s major acquisition for the past ramifications of the project, the exhibition was one of the year’s most popular exhibitions and In terms of significant acquisitions across the year. The acquisition was generously supported mounted in recognition of 2011 as the Year of was extensively reviewed in the national and Gallery’s collecting fields, this past year saw by the Geelong Art Gallery Foundation, the Chinese Culture in Australia, and preparations metropolitan media. the accession of a pair of rare hand-painted Geelong Community Foundation, the Robert involved support from the Department of and gilded porcelain plates from the Worcester Salzer Foundation Art Program, the Will and Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Exclusive to Geelong, and initiated and factory’s famous