Benalla Art Gallery — Attraction in Benalla

Housed in a purpose built, architect designed building on the banks of Lake Benalla, the Benalla Art Gallery has become an cultural and architectural icon of northeast Victoria since it opened in 1975.

The Gallery presents a diverse, high quality exhibition program to inspire and engage audiences. All exhibitions are supported by a dynamic range of public programs of workshops, talks and events designed to provide a direct experience and deeper understanding of making and thinking about art. Our philosophy is to explore new modes of art practice in context with the traditions, innovations and practitioners of the past.

The Benalla Art Gallery Collection includes painting, printmaking, works on paper, photography, textiles, ceramics, sculpture and decorative arts spanning three centuries of Australian art. The Ledger Collection focuses on Australian art from the 19th and early 20th centuries with an emphasis on the colonial and impressionist periods. The collection continues to develop with recent acquisitions including outstanding Indigenous and contemporary...

Did not expect a smaller regional art gallery to have a varied & great selection of Australian artworks. Free entry!

The recent Heide group featuring Sidney Nolan Ned Kelly series & Albert Tucker was really good as was the fire themed artworks by other artists. The older Heidelbeg impressionist paintings in the other smaller space at the back was also excellent.

Plenty of free parking at main open entrance on Midland Highway. Google did not get this right & I parked further out.

Enjoyed our lunch at the onsite Cafe with picturesque lake views & the single jet fountain. Clean toilets inside.

Lovely location within the Benalla Botanical Gardens. The garden is not very big but you can do a circuit lake walk to get a good workout. Weary Dunlop sculpture is located here & there is a mini rose garden with some late summer blooms.

A great place to stop, chill & stretch our legs for a few hours on our way to Glenrowan & then Beechworth - driving north...

The Cafe was fantastic, the food tasted great the coffee was nice and the cafe staff were quick and friendly. After breakfast we went to look at the art gallery and that is where it all went pear shaped. The curator was abrupt, rude and demeaning. We were looking at some art work when from across the room she shouted at us as not to touch anything. At no point were we even close to any artwork let alone stupid enough to touch anything however her tone and attitude towards two younger people was extremely inhospitable. We felt unwelcome and unwanted. We however chose to stay and continue looking yet she watched us like a hawk over our shoulders like we were trying to steal something. It got so bad we felt completely unwanted and uncomfortable we had to leave.

Very poor inhospitable attitude and we wont be returning nor suggesting to anyone else to go and look. Extremely disappointed with...