Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

,r 'I'he 'rownsvill e .1 lletin 13 October 1983 Brisbane artman moving to take gallery to people THE Director of the Queensland Art Gal– lery, Mr Raoul Mellish, pictured above, is the judge of the Townsville Art Society's Caltex Summer Exhibition. The mayor, Aldennan Mike Reynolds, will open the exhibition at the Pere Tucker Gallery tonight. The Potters' Association is also taking part in the exhibition of ceramics, paint– ings, drawings, prints and sculpture, which occupies the street Level gallery and part of the upper.floor o.f the aallery. B1 HELEN MULRONEY THERE are tbote who think that the money spent housJnr the Queensland Art Gallel'J Jn lta plash new home on the aoath bank of the Brisbane River 1hould have been distributed more equitably amonr the State'• art galleries and • ocletlea. It II a "very understandable" point of view 1 accordlq to tbe Brisbane 1allery's director, Mr Raoul Mellllll. wbo wu In TowmvUle yesterday. And bavinl acknowled1ed that that leaves the majority of the State' • Inhabitants without accesa to the 1allery and Its collec:Uon, Mr Mellish and his staff are workln1011 the remedy. A pro,ram of extension services is their answer. And. u part of tbe 1allery's education program, the • ervlces provided cover quite a range. The moet obvious solution to the problem of ertendln1 the 1allery's range Is sending the gallery's work.I out on loan. It La a costly solution but, as Mr MellJ.sh said, there were ways and means of getting sponsorship. "I think a well prepared and documented elhlbition services a wide public and has educational value," he said. Visual arts M And we made • lot of promlaet ID this re11rd wlllell we wut Co keep. "All the exhibitions are designed to be didactic in • omeway. "Even small suitcase ezhlbltlons can be valuable u long u they have tbe right information accompany– Ing them. "An exhibition doesn't have to be large to be meaningful." The gallery's aim was to make the various forms of the visual arts as understandable and enjoyable as possible, he said. "First, on a level that people are comfortable with - they might only want to go as far as they as the things they appreciate. "And later. go further - particularly for young people - so that the art enlarges their own experience." The gallery's extension services also covered aspects such as sharing around the artists and crafts– men who visited the gallery, and running education programs for the staff of other galleries. Mr Mellish said. Mr Mellish wlll move to Rockhampton tomorrow, where be will take up with the pilot and art and pottery teacher who make up tbe flying 11rt school. Mr Mellish will join the flying school !or a tour of western Queensland to "get the feel of things and see how we can work in with them" ·•·