
Photos: Terry Melvin, Ursula Theinert and Laura Brearley
IN THE heart of Bass Coast, we find the ArtSpace Gallery in Wonthaggi. It is a place where community members gather and connect through a shared love of art and art-making. The edges of ArtSpace are expansive and it welcomes in fresh ways of experiencing the world through multiple ways of knowing.
Over the years, I have witnessed the ways in which ArtSpace brings together Art, Science and Culture, in an interweaving of creative practice, ecological awareness and First Nations’ wisdom. It hosts Bass Coast Reconciliation Network’s annual NAIDOC exhibitions and showcases the work of First Nations artists living in Gippsland. It has also hosted a number of exhibitions and activities from Phillip Island Conservation Society’s Eco Arts projects ‘For Our Future’ and ‘Across the Waters’.