The newly refurbished Shire of Manjimup Gallery was officially opened on Sunday May 1 as part of the Unearthed Pemberton Festival.
Manjimup Shire President Wade DeCampo was pleased that the shire was putting in more effort within the community for arts and culture.
“We have never been very good with art & culture in our shire,” Mr DeCampo said.
“A number of years ago we decided to try and get better at it and from there we started working together with some prominent art groups and local artists to make this happen.”
Mr DeCampo said art and culture were now much more obvious around the shire.
“We now have plenty of evidence of improved art and culture, with artwork in the main street of Pemberton, the Arts Group and now the opening of this gallery in the Manjimup shire library.”
Professor Ted Snell AM CitWA Director, Cultural Precinct, University of Western Australia officially unveiled the gallery with Mr DeCampo and thanked Howard Taylor and Guy Grey-Smith’s families for allowing their works to be displayed.
“I think it is really important to have a shire that is prepared to spend money on the arts and culture, so well done to Wade for ensuring this has happened,” Professor Snell said.
“I am pleased to have been invited to open this exhibition because Guy and Howard were really important to me both as mentors and as role models, but also because they gave me the eyes to see the place that I love - this place where I was born.”
“Guy and Howard were friends over many decades and their lives intertwined in many, many interesting ways,” Professor Snell explained.
“They were both born in Western Australia, they both fought in World War II, they were both shot down and they both spent time in POW camps, including the same camp for a short period of time.”
“They both went back to England and studied, before returning to Perth and eventually moving down to Pemberton and to Northcliffe. “
“In the process they have made their works both comprehensible and familiar to all of us. So thank you to Guy and Howard and to their families for sharing this with us. It is really important to see works in the environment in which they were made.”
The exhibition runs until Sunday June 26, 2016 at the Manjimup Library Gallery.