Bondi Well Beings, Alex Kiers and Claire Finneran, Bondi Feast 2015, courtesy the artist.
For artists who are grasping the opportunity to mount their own exhibition, choosing the space is probably the most important decision. Before your put down the cash, ask yourself what your chosen venue is bringing to the party. Is it connected to public transport? Does the building get much foot-traffic? Are there other reasons for people to be in the area?
Bondi Pavilion Gallery is an example of a venue that ticks all these boxes, with the beach and surrounding cafes and shops providing clear benefits for exhibiting artists and a growing reputation for quality exhibitions.
It puts you in good company
Iconic Bondi events including Sculpture by the Sea and Bondi Winter Magic make the Bondi Pavillion location feel like part of an artistic precinct – and that reputation rubs off on exhibiting artists and increases visitation.
For Finneran, whose exhibition was on during Bondi Winter Magic, the timing worked to her benefit. ‘There were people who were coming straight off the ice rink, these families would walk in. I think we were framed almost like an attraction.’
Bondi Pavillion has also developed a reputation for showcasing emerging contemporary artists and visitors often make a point of coming to Bondi to visit the gallery. Artists who have recently exhibited at Bondi Pavilion Gallery include Shaun Rafferty, Adam Norton, and Wade Marynowski.
Together with the Bondi Sea Wall, which showcases the work of street artists, the gallery provides artists with an audience that is attuned to a serendipitous arts experience and expects it to be good.
It brings a new audience
For artist Claire Finneran, the number of visitors to her exhibition at Bondi Pavilion Gallery exceeded her expectations. ‘It’s a good place to exhibit because there is a crazy amount of foot traffic. I didn’t realise it was such a publicly engaged building. People are genuinely walking through it all day.’
The central location on the shores of the iconic Bondi Beach provided a unique opportunity for Finneran to leverage off the tourist destination. It was a space where new audiences were introduced to Finneran’s work.
Applications for Bondi Pavilion Gallery are now open
Kirsten Fredericks had a similar experience in the group exhibition Bondi Blow Hole in January, also held at Bondi Pavilion Gallery. ‘There’s so much tourist trade there you are actually exhibiting your art to people who wouldn’t usually go looking for it. You are opening up your market in a way.’
‘For myself and the other four artists who were in the show, it was great. We had hundreds and hundreds of people come see our work who didn’t know about us and now they do.’
Bondi Blowhole, 2016, Kirsten Fredericks, Doodad and Fandango, Sarah Howell, Captain Pipe and Cupco, courtesy the artists.
It inspires you
Another sign that you’ve found the right space is when it brings new insight to your work and encourages a different approach or interpretation.
Part gallery, part shop the exhibition Bondi Blow Hole capitalised on the location by playing with the boundary between commercial shop and gallery space.
‘Because it’s at the beach and in the pavilion surrounded by all those tourist shops, I thought the best thing to do was to have some fun with it and make it seem like a tourist stop as well for art with a beach theme. That was just us playing around with our work. We wanted people to walk in and go, “Is this a shop or a gallery?”’ said Fredericks.
This experimentation with the location of the gallery highlights a creative dimension for other artists to consider when they are looking at hiring their own space to exhibit.
Apply for an exhibition at Bondi Pavilion Gallery
Finneran also found the location was a source of inspiration for the exhibition she curated in collaboration with Alex Kiers. The work Finneran and Kiers created was site specific and engaged with Bondi as part of their year-long residency at Waverley Artist Studios.
‘Certain thematic aspects of the show were drawing from that environment – people going to the beach, the whole wellness lifestyle, yoga on the esplanade,’ said Finneran.
‘We took that and tried to trail it back inside, into the exhibition. So the location very much informed the work. ‘
Describing the space as ‘not your typical white cube’, Finneran also found the heritage space a responsive site for her site-specific installations.
‘There were these central columns and it had this real wonkiness that you could respond to in the building for the installation. Rather than this MDF wall and drilling into it, it already has these elements that were quite interesting,’ she said.
There is additional support
Fredericks also found that the additional curatorial advice and support from the gallery was invaluable.
‘For a lot of exhibitions, you do your work and then you get there and ask yourself, “Now how do I hang it?” There was a really strong support team there to help with the practical things that allow you to set up the exhibition,’ said Fredericks.
‘You may be a great artist, but you may not know how to hang work as well as the person who runs the gallery.’
Applications for the 2017 Bondi Pavilion Gallery close on Monday October 31 5pm.
For application guidelines and the online application form click here
