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New-look LRG to be officially opened

The newly-renovated Latrobe Regional Gallery is to be officially opened on Thursday 17 August, heralding its arrival as the go-to regional arts venue in the state.

By Portal Admin - 18th August 2017 - Back to News

Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing, will perform the official duties alongside members of the Latrobe Valley Authority, Latrobe City Council and the wider art community.

Latrobe City Council’s mayor, Councillor Kellie O’Callaghan, said the gallery had been transformed from the ordinary to the outstanding.

"The new-look LRG is a real showpiece for our community, but it’s more than that. It marks a new era for the venue, for the community - where we are able to compete on a world stage.

The upgrade has provided the capacity for the gallery to host international exhibitions. And fittingly, we will be welcoming a world-class exhibition of photographs by the renowned Surrealist Rene Magritte later this week.

"The renovations, completed in mid-July, have already generated much positive feedback. Visitors have already expressed their pleasure at the changes and bookings for the Magritte exhibition are flowing in," Cr O’Callaghan said.

Latrobe City Council contributed $740,000 towards the Gallery renovation, with a further $770,000 funded by the Latrobe Valley Authority as part of the State Government's $266 million transition funding.

Gallery director, Mark Themann, said the project involved a total revamp of the building, externally and internally, to bring it up to a standard required to host world-class exhibitions.

"Aesthetic changes to the building have included a new facade, open foyer and new lighting, with some major works behind the scenes to enable the special handling of valuable art work. Storage, shelving and climate control systems at the Gallery have been upgraded to accommodate major exhibitions which are expected to attract tens of thousands of new visitors.

"We have been able to secure our first international exhibition – Rene Magritte: the revealing image, photos and films which puts us on the global art map. The new look gallery’s capacity to stand on the world stage will be enable us to raise our profile in the state-wide and national arts scene as well as boosting community pride across Latrobe City and the wider Gippsland region," Dr Themann said.

Cr O’Callaghan added that the Gallery renovation would also bring economic benefits to local businesses through greater visitation.

"We are a region undergoing change and this project is a demonstration of Council’s vision for a Strength-Led Transition," Cr O’Callaghan concluded.

The Latrobe Regional Gallery will be officially opened at 11am on Thursday 17 August.

Rene Magritte: the revealing image, photos and films will open on Saturday 19 August.

Tickets are available at www.latroberegionalgallery.com

Media Enquiries:

Cr Kellie O’Callaghan, Latrobe City Mayor

Telephone: 0400 696 324

Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Latrobe City Deputy Mayor

Telephone: 0417 379 059

Media Relations Office

Telephone: 5128 5458

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: support@gippsland.com