New gallery director Lisa Loader was appointed in August after the devastating loss of long serving director Alan Sisley who passed away in February.

Mr Sisley was a unique, intelligent, humorous and inspiring man of the arts. We all benefited from his depth of knowledge and his empathy for art and artists. Colleagues miss his sharp insights and his fearless advocacy for regional arts.

The most memorable and moving event of the year, for us, was his memorial service, held in the gallery on March 9. It was a wonderful tribute to an extraordinary man.

Mr Sisley brought outsider  artists to more prominence during his 23 years as gallery director and a number of exhibitions in our upcoming schedule include such artists, with Phil Hammial showing in January and Tony and Sylvia Convey in May. 

Also initiated by Mr Sisley, and completing its tour in October, was the long anticipated exhibition The Three O’s. This exhibition, featuring major works by Desiderius Orban, John Olsen and John Ogburn, travelled to five venues throughout the country and attracted over 32,000 visitors. It was a significant achievement for the gallery, with the inclusion of loans from state and national collections, and an accompanying catalogue that proved extremely popular, selling out just prior to the tour’s conclusion.

The gallery was thrilled to make several important acquisitions over the past year including an abstract painting by David Rose from 1963, a figurative painting by Kevin Connor from 1982 and three Judy Cassab paintings from the 1990s and early 2000s. We are also pleased to have completed conservation and framing work on a number of artworks from our collection in preparation for their display in the upcoming exhibition Chroma: the Jim Cobb gift that opens at the end of January. This work was generously funded by the Friends of Orange Regional Gallery.

We recently initiated the first comprehensive valuation of the collection, where all artworks currently held (just over 800), will b assessed by an independent certified valuer. The results of this huge undertaking will be finalised in late January and will inform our collection management strategies and provide guidance for our insurance. 

Next year  our precinct will transform into an even more attractive destination with the construction of the new Orange Regional Museum. We are enthusiastic about the arrival of another cultural institution and possible collaborations in 2016 and beyond. 

We are also excited about the program of exhibitions we have planned for 2015 that will include 19 exhibitions, 18 of which will be assembled by the gallery and feature solo shows by local and regional artists/photographers. In addition to Phil Hammial, they will include: Jude Keogh, Martin Coyte, Victor Gordon, Tim Winters, Christine McMillan, Tim Miller, Heather Pike and Freya Blackwood.

From the entire team at the gallery we wish you a very happy festive season, with our thoughts also turning to the Sisley family, Caro, Clive and Henry as they experience their first Christmas since Alan’s passing.

Opening  hours: every day 9am – 5pm (except Christmas Day), exhibitions are free.