GalleriesWest is an independent advocacy body dedicated to connecting and strengthening the public galleries sector in Western Australia to offer residents and visitors access to the best possible visual arts and cultural experiences.


Vision

To create a cohesive and integrated network of public galleries across WA delivering relevant, varied and accessible visual arts experiences for both community members and visitors.


Mission

To be an effective advocate for the important contribution of public galleries to contemporary Australia and the benefits they bring to WA’s creative, social, cultural and economic ecologies.


We will do this by:
1. Leadership: Building awareness
  • Engaging in active dialogue with all levels of government and other relevant agencies and organisations to ensure they are made aware of and kept informed about the important work of public galleries.
  • Developing and drawing from research to inform the policies of key decision makers to ensure representation of the issues, benefits and contribution that the sector plays in meeting broad societal and creative outcomes.
  • Promoting the work of Western Australian artists and their contribution to the visual culture of the State and beyond.
  • Advancing the work of regional public galleries as significant providers of cultural tourism experiences.
2. Networking: Building connectivity
  • Collaborate with the national network of public/regional gallery organisations to provide a central information base for resources, research and national guidelines for the exhibition and interpretation of visual art and artistic activity.
  • Foster development of collaborative partnerships and projects with major arts organisations, peak service organisations and between member galleries that further the objectives of the sector.
3. Encouraging Excellence: Building capacity
  • Work with the sector to identify the needs of artists, galleries and the industry to sustain, grow and foster artistic excellence.
  • Develop best-practice standards to create benchmarks for the sector that are measurable and meet national industry standards.
  • Provide a network of support and identify professional development opportunities that build the skills, knowledge and creative capacity of practitioners and the sustainability of careers.

We will know we have achieved our goals when
  • Visitors and communities respond to and explore ideas and different ways of seeing and imagining our world through the work of artists.
  • WA celebrates ‘sense-of-place’ through artists’ exploration of both well-known, and less familiar, places and experiences.
  • WA fosters personal and community well-being through creative expression and participation.
  • Public galleries form part of a strong network of priority destinations for tourists exploring our diverse state.
  • Public galleries are recognised for their role as co-custodians of the visual culture of places.
  • The sector is well trained, appropriately paid and working in ‘fit-for-purpose’ spaces/environments that meet the needs and aspirations of the various communities we serve.
  • The creative economy is recognised as a significant contributor to and conduit for employment.
  • The many and culturally diverse voices of the creative sector are recognised for their major contribution to fostering a confident, open and tolerant Australia.