Feature Article
Treasures of the TarraWarra Museum of Art in Perth
The Gallery at Ellenbrook is host to a significant selection of works from the prestigious TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, Victoria, from 29 October to29 November.
As part of the inaugural Ellenbrook Festival, visitors in Western Australia will have a rare opportunity to view Treasures from the TarraWarra Museum of Art at The Gallery at Ellenbrook from 29 October to 29 November. The purpose-built TarraWarra Museum of Art, located at Healesville in the beautiful Yarra Valley in Victoria, is the result of a long held dream of collectors Eva and Marc Besen AO to share their inexhaustible passion for Australian art with the people of Australia and beyond. The Museum, a not-for-profit institution, was launched in 2002. It is the largest private collection of Australian art, and the first major privately funded museum in Australia. Eva and Marc Besen, whose fortune from their Sussan Group is estimated in the hundreds of millions, have lovingly assembled their collection over the past fifty years, devoting their attention to works from the mid twentieth century to the present.
'Municipal Gardens,' recycled wood and linoleum on plywood by Rosalie Gascoigne, 1983. Gift of Eva and Marc Besen 2001, TarraWarra Museum of Art Collection.
The Museum building itself was the result of an architectural competition, with five of Melbourne's most outstanding architects invited to present designs. Winning architect Allan Power won the inaugural Premier's Design Award, and builders Probuild Constructions won the 2004 Excellence in Construction Award.
Treasures from the TarraWarra Museum of Art features twenty works by artists such as Fred Williams, Arthur Boyd, Rosalie Gascoigne, Davis Aspen, Rick Amor, Ian Fairweather, Margaret Preston, Joy Hester, John Brack, Sam Fullbrook and Charles Blackman, culminating in recent works by young urban Indigenous artists Ben Pushman and Brooke Andrew. Many of the works have not previously been seen in Western Australia.
Curator Philippa O'Brien said she happened to be in Victoria when the Museum opened to the public in 2003. "I was so impressed by everything I saw," she said. "The exhibition was superb, but apart from that the gallery was so beautiful - a perfect exhibition space, and the whole concept of the building in the landscape was so sensitive and intelligent."
She approached her friend, the late John Stringer who was organising a show from the Kerry Stokes Collection to tour to TarraWarra, asking him what he thought of the idea of bringing a selection of works to Perth. "He was enthusiastic," said Philippa, "as was TarraWarra Director Maudie Palmer, but the tragedy of John's death put everything on hold."
"Early this year I tried to revive the idea again. It just happened to be Maudie's last day as Director. She was heading off to her last board meeting with Mr and Mrs Besen, and my original proposal was the last piece of paper on her desk. From that moment, everything just fell into place."
As Art Consultant to the Ellenbrook Cultural Foundation her brief is to create one or two significant exhibitions per year for the Gallery in the newly-developed town. This is her first attempt to bring works from outside Western Australia to the state.
'Coral and Banksia,' oil on canvas, Margaret Preston, 1939. Gift of Eva and Marc Besen 2002, TarraWarra Museum of Art Collection.
The Foundation was established in 2002 to develop arts and culture in Ellenbrook. Also a not-for-profit organisation, the Foundation promotes a wide variety of arts such as theatre, performance, and visual arts, including photography. Its annual program includes the WASO ensemble series, a Winter Fire Festival, regular exhibitions, an artist in residence program and community workshops. The Foundation manages two dedicated visual arts spaces. The Gallery at Ellenbrook is a large contemporary A class gallery in the centre of Ellenbrook which encourages a range of Western Australian art from professional to emerging and local. The second is The GrapeVine Community Arts Space, located at Charlotte's Vineyard, designed to accommodate a range of uses, including artist in residence programs.
With a budget of approximately $300,000, the Foundation hopes to have a major impact on audiences. The first Ellenbrook Festival occurs just before the 2010 Perth International Arts Festival over five weeks from 24 October to 28 November. At the heart of the first Festival is Treasures from TarraWarra Museum of Art, an exhibition Philippa O'Brien says is an honour to exhibit. The Festival includes tours of the exhibition as well as tours of extensive public art located in Ellenbrook.
Performances from around the world features at the Festival, including Whirling Dervishes from Egypt, Sengalese high energy spiritual afro/jazz, Indian sitar and tabla, and dance from Sierra Leone. Aboriginal dance and art workshops include a range of activities for children.
The Upstart Theatre production group will produce Shakespeare's Othello in the Woodlake Amphitheatre, supported by features from Kulcha. A Market Day will bring together the culture of the Swan Valley with wine, organic food, local food suppliers, a book fair and artisan stalls.
The Foundation is currently in discussion to bring a major music artist to Perth for the closing event.
Treasures of the TarraWarra Museum of Art is open 10am - 5pm daily at The Gallery at Ellenbrook, 34 Main St, Ellenbrook. Entry is free. For more information visit www.ellenbrookarts.com.au