Local commercial art seller and gallery, the Tyger Gallery, provides the artistic community of Yass a place to explore artistic pieces sourced locally and from around the country, with pieces created by some of the Yass Valley’s top talent as well as up-and-coming artists from across Australia.
Passionate about presenting art that connects to the Yass Valley community, as well as championing artists and providing opportunities for residents to explore and own artistic pieces, Martyn Pearce and his team at Tyger Gallery, including curator Hannah Cole, are committed to presenting and providing the best experience to the residents of the Yass Valley.
The Yass Valley Times spoke to the team at Tyger Gallery, discussing what the venue means for artists in the valley, how the venue was created, as well as taking in the artistic works present.
Situated at the Memorial Hall at 84 Comur St, Tyger Gallery has been open since March this year, however, as a project it goes back to last year.
“It was born as an idea in the middle of last year, and I thought that Yass needed a beautiful, commercial art gallery where the best of the region’s incredible artistic community could show their works alongside some of the best emerging and established artists all around Australia, and in doing so build and develop their careers”, said Martyn,
“I went and had a couple of conversations with Council about whether any of the properties they own could be used to have a commercial art gallery or even a pop-up art gallery because I just thought it was something Yass needed. I never really envisaged that I would be the one running the art gallery”.
The site was inspected in October, before entering a few months of clearing, repair and remodelling to get the desired look.
“I thought the place had real potential as an art gallery. It’s a beautiful space with gorgeous high ceilings”, said Martyn.
Within the space are three rooms featuring different exhibitions, typically changing exhibitions monthly. Different styles and mediums are available, with current exhibitions including Hills, Plains and Distant Ranges by Tarli Glover, The Land is Our Legacy by Indigenous artist Natalie Childs, as well as non-exhibition pieces, with popular pieces including Rain by Jenny Baird, ceramic vases by locals Good Hope Pottery, and many more.
Upcoming exhibitions will showcase works by Yass locals and recognised artists, Bev Cornell and Ruth Dodd, with pieces inspired by local terrain and sites around Yass.
“We’ve organised a series of shows that run throughout the year, so essentially we have new shows going in here every month, and we are putting a wide variety of art in here, different styles, different mediums, we really want people in Yass and visitors to not just come in and see and buy art but have a really nice experience”, said Martyn.
Tyger Gallery has seen strong community reception since its opening, providing an avenue for artistic residents to buy, sell and experience artistic works, but also providing an opening for those who wouldn’t otherwise be interested in art galleries.
“I’m really happy to see that people in Yass are coming in on a regular basis”, said Martyn,
“We’re trying to create something that’s a beautiful experience for people in addition to a place where they can go, ‘okay, I know where I can buy art. It’s been really exciting. When I created the gallery one of the things I really wanted to do was create a space that would attract the type of people who wouldn’t normally go to an art gallery. I wanted to create a space that was warm and welcoming, friendly, and relaxed, where people could come in, spend some time looking at art, think about it, have discussions about it, and the response from the community has been beyond my wildest dreams”.
Martyn credits the Yass community with making such a venue possible, not only by frequenting and purchasing from the gallery, or having the space available, but for the artistic communities efforts to establish and highlight the artistic culture within Yass, acting as ‘pioneers’.
“Yass has a long and proud arts history, and it’s got some people in the community who have been real pioneers, such as Cayla Pothan at Tootsie, Peter Crisp with his gallery, Kim Nelson, they did incredible things in terms of galvanising and organising and getting the local arts community to recognise there are some incredibly talented artists here”, said Martyn.
As a result, Tyger Gallery has become something of a community venue as well as a commercial art outlet, with its location on the main street providing good foot traffic, and acting as a warm reprieve to the wet, cold weather as of late.
“There’s a lot of social interactions that happen here. It’s a lively place rather than a quiet, stuffy place. I love the conversations I have here with people”, said Martyn.
Pieces vary in price, with a broad range and selection allowing people new to art collecting a chance at possessing the pieces available. Prices typically can go from anywhere between as little as $85 to as high as $5000 for high-end pieces.
Tyger Gallery is open from 10 am to 4 pm, from Friday through to Sunday.
Griffin Palen
