A cooperative keepsake magazine for Kyogle & Villages, Northern Rivers NSW.
STEPPING UP
The Roxy Gallery has a new home: upstairs in the Kyogle Memorial Institute. Kyogle Culture looks at the Gallery’s rich history, and how this new chapter will help further foster local arts and our community.
Over its 18 year history, the Roxy Gallery in Kyogle has welcomed approximately 72,000 visitors through its doors. As well as introducing locals and tourists to the region’s unique creative viewpoints, the gallery aims to foster creative talent, open up opportunities for emerging and professional artists to gain exposure and sales for their works. It also gives artists the chance to develop their profiles in the art world, with many using the Roxy experience as a springboard to other avenues in the professional art world.
A joint initiative of Kyogle and District Arts Inc. and the Kyogle Council, the Roxy has held over 240 exhibitions supporting both local and regional artists, as well as community and school groups, since its official opening on the 9th of September 1996 at the Roxy Commercial Centre (now known as the Christian Life Church). Art was shown in this space until 1998, when it relocated to the former premises on Summerland Way.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or in using the new spaces that the Roxy offers, please email roxygallery@kyogle.nsw.gov.au
The new gallery space, above the Kyogle Memorial Institute (with entry next to Gateway Office Supplies on Summerland Way) has been created as part of the KMI Revitalisation Project which aims to bring ‘stage’ and ‘gallery ‘ together to create an enhanced arts and culture venue.
As part of the $640,000 project, the KMI’s original entrance from the main street has been reinstated. A number of small display spaces will be activated in the main entrance foyer, including plans for a ‘young and emerging artists’ space, and a lift has been installed to raise visitors up into the new-look gallery space on the first floor. The new space is a work in progress, but the change in location will provide other opportunities such as small workshops, artist’s talks, and a place for community interaction. In the future, the veranda area will also provide a great place to meet and watch the town life hum along.
The new operating hours for the gallery will be Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 3pm, with the possibility of including Sunday, once the show gets up and running.
Director Ruth Tsitimbinis explains that a big part of the Gallery’s success lies in the commitment and passion of the people behind it. “The volunteers that have supported the Roxy Gallery over the eighteen years are amazing,” she smiles. “The majority of volunteers have an affiliation with the Kyogle and District Arts Group (some have been volunteering for 18 years), others are practicing artists, and some people just want to give back to the community. They find it a great way to meet new folk and get involved in the town and region.”