Curator shares passion
SO STRONG is Rockhampton Art Gallery's new curator's passion about art that midway through an interview with The Morning Bulletin, she turned to tell some people the story behind a painting.
Diana Warnes started at the regional gallery about seven weeks ago after a four-and-a-half-year stint at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Ms Warnes said after becoming so familiar with the collection of 35,000 works, she decided to look for a new challenge.
"One of the things I wanted to learn about was how exhibitions go on the road."
Ms Warnes said prior to finishing up with the war memorial, she worked on an exhibition called Perspectives which was a collection of works by artists who travelled to the Solomon Islands while Australian Defence Force personnel were there on peace-keeping duties.
She said her interest in regional galleries was sparked from this exhibition, which showed in Cairns and Mackay.
As she explained her journey to being the art curator at the Rockhampton Art Gallery, a newly created position, gallery visitors grabbed her attention.
Ms Warnes had just finished explaining that she had studied art history at the Australian National University in Canberra and while she was undertaking honours, she worked at the National Portrait Gallery, when she said "I love talking about the art work."
Next she was telling a couple about the story behind a Sally Gabori piece titled Dibirdibi Country.
She explained Gabori was an 88-year-old artist from the South Wellesley Islands, in the Southern Gulf of Carpentaria and the piece told the story about her husband's homeland.
Returning to the interview, Ms Warnes said there were people making incredible art works, writing great stories or music, and if it was not preserved, it would be lost. "There is a challenge of getting people into galleries and experiencing the integrity of the original object," she said.
Upcoming
- National Museum of Australia travelling photographic exhibition League of Legends
- Exhibition celebrates 100 years of rugby league in Australia
- October 12 to November 25
