After 15 years of showing art exhibitions in North Lismore, Serpentine Community Gallery will be closing its doors.

The gallery’s treasurer and founding member Corrine (Rin) Batt-Rowden said it’s not the end of the community gallery - but she doesn’t know where the gallery can relocate to - and is calling for community help.

“The building has been sold and the new owner needs accommodation for his family,” Rin said.

“We are in the middle of a rental crisis and there’s not many places available at the moment.

“The building is zoned for residential and business use, so his mother will live there.

“He has offered us free rent until we find somewhere else to go to.

Options

Rin said the gallery’s program of exhibitions will continue while the committee looks at real estate options.

“We are hoping to move into the Lismore CBD into a bigger space and be able to provide more services to members,” she said

“We have lots of digital artists at the gallery and would love to offer Artificial Reality (AR) workshops.

“We have also talked to the Mayor to see if council has a venue we can use.”

Reinvention

Rin said Covid restrictions and lockdown challenges meant the gallery had needed to reinvent itself to survive.

“We created an online gallery with merchant facilities, so we could still show and sell work,” she said.

“It was all about being creative and coming up with new solutions in a new world to transform and create a space for the community.

“We are all still excited and the team is positive and upbeat about the future.”

History

Serpentine Community Gallery opened in November 2006.

Rin said she signed the lease after walking by one day and thinking the building would make a good gallery.

“I was inspired and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” Rin laughed.

“It’s been a challenging a 15-year commitment, working as part of a volunteer team and holding space for the community and member artists.

“I’ve learned, grown and met some awesome people.”

Community gallery

As a community gallery, Serpentine Gallery is a not for profit incorporated organisation, owned by and for the community.

Rin said as a financial gallery member (for $50 a year), artists get to participate in members and group shows - as well as sell items in the gallery gift shop - and have voting rights on management committee decisions.

Highlights

Rin said a highlight for her has been working with high school students to exhibit their Year 12 artworks.

“I love seeing their parents and community come and support the young artists - and seeing the pride and sense of accomplishment they had.

“There’s not a lot of places they can exhibit their art and it happened in such a supportive way at Serpentine.

Lowlights

Even after the 2017 floods inundated the gallery, Rin said the community donated so much and helped clean it up after the flood.

Ironically, it was the gallery’s current exhibitors – the Lismore Art Club - who had their exhibition on when the flood-hit in 2017. Read more: Lismore Art Club exhibition celebrates 61 years of art

“At the time, they lost some work in the floods,” Rin said. “They have been sharing their stories about it, some artists remembering having to throw out mud-covered artworks.

“There are so many good and sad stories of strength and community support here. When an artist dies, their friends put on an exhibition of their work for the community

“It’s been a place where all walks of life connect and share creative inspiration.”

Help

If you have any ideas of where the gallery can relocate to, email [email protected]