CAMP Street’s old Masonic Hall has been given a new lease on life.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Next month the heritage building will reopen as the city’s newest art space, The Lost Ones Gallery.
Founders Tara Poole and Stephen Pigott, who scooped up the opportunity to add to Ballarat’s art scene after discovering the building had gone on the market earlier this year, have spent the past two months renovating the space before their first exhibition.
The doors will open over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend as the community gets the first glimpse inside.
Ms Poole said the exhibition, which will include the work of lithographer David Frazer, rocking horse maker Olivia O’Connor, ceramicist Minna Graham, sculptor Adam Simmons and woodworking crafter Mark Anstey, will celebrate local makers and crafters.
“The Makers Exhibition will showcase some very talented craftspeople, designers and artisans, who are designing and creating work from scratch,” she said.
“Many of them have trained for years to develop a skill and hone their craft.
“We want to restore the true meaning of retail, and to ensure people understand that there are makers and designers on their doorstep waiting to be able to demonstrate their skills.
“The exhibition is a chance to meet the makers. There are some extraordinarily talented people is this part of the world, and we would like to see them gain wider exposure and recognition for their work.”
Mr Pigott said the exhibition would also give people the chance to admire the history of the building.
“We want to showcase the building as much as the arts. This place has so much history,” he said.
He said the art space was also the perfect place to introduce new art and creative activities that were bound to complement those that already existed in the city.
“Our focus is on the artists in the region,” Mr Pigott said.
“It’s only going to expand the local art scene. Any new opportunity for artists to exhibit is going to be good.”
The unseen basement has also been renovated into a creative art zone which will be used to host a series of courses in painting, drawing, shibori linen dyeing, weaving and block printing.
alicia.thomas@fairfaxmedia.com.au
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: The Lost Ones Gallery: The Makers Exhibition
WHERE: 14 Camp Street, Ballarat
WHEN: June 6-8 from 10am
