Gippsland Art Gallery — Attraction in Sale

he Gippsland Art Gallery was established in 1965 as the Sale Regional Arts Centre, above the City Library in Macalister Street, Sale.

The Gallery was the first public art venue to open east of Melbourne. A Victorian State Government Grant of £20,000 enabled construction of the Gallery, which was initially operated by a Committee of Management. The Gallery was staffed entirely by volunteers until its first Director, Gwen Webb OAM, was appointed in 1976. It continued to operate as a community gallery until 1994, when it came under the management of the newly formed Wellington Shire Council. The Gallery relocated to the Port of Sale Civic Centre, where it reopened in 1995.

In July 2015 the Gallery commenced a major, $14.53 million redevelopment, funded jointly by Federal, State and Local Governments, in addition to a $1.5 million gift from the John Leslie Foundation. The redevelopment has dramatically enhanced the visitor experience, with increased exhibition spaces and improved access to the Gallery collection. The new Gippsland Art Gallery opened to the public on 6 January 2018.

Features of the new Gallery include access to the art reference library, Dock 70 Cafe, Gallery Shop, and a dedicated showcase for the celebrated Sale-based textile artist...

We entered as a group of interested locals through the back entrance and some took the stairs, (lovely timber), whilst the baby stroller and others took the lift. The outcome of the finished gallery overall was a fabulous job to all concerned, especially for giving our very own Annemieke Mein her own room, very well deserved. I love her work. The library, which now has been successfully moved, is much better than I expected, being bright, colourful, cosy and lots of quiet little areas to be on your own as well. The children's area is absolutely great, they were already loving it. Purchased some local goods at the counter and commented on the great time we had had to 'Michael' who was extremely interested in what we had thought of our time there. I had to leave before sampling a coffee, next time I will look forward to one. All in all, don't miss visiting this fantastic new site for our library and take the...

Overlooking the water and greenery of the Port of Sale Precinct is a sensational regional gallery.

As an institution the Gippsland Art Gallery dates back to 1965, but relocated to this picturesque spot in 1995 and was redeveloped between 2015 and 2017. In a vibrant program, the gallery puts on more than 30 shows a year at six different exhibition spaces.

One of these is permanently devoted to the work of Sale-based textile artist Annemieke Mein.

The permanent collection extends to around 1,750 pieces, and includes art by names as diverse as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Polixeni Papapetrou, Peter Booth and Jan Hendrik Scheltema.

Along with touring exhibitions and shows for established and emerging artists from the region there’s a rotating display pulling from that...