About

Housed in the heritage listed, turn of the century Town Hall building, the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery opened in 1984 as Western Australia's first regional A-Class venue. The Gallery is the City of Greater Geraldton's principal arts institution, serving arts and culture to the Midwest region's residents and tourists. GRAG also houses the City of Greater Geraldton's Art Collection.

GRAG is proud to present a diverse and stimulating exhibition program from local, state, national and international sources. Not only does GRAG host touring exhibitions curated by the nation's leading Art Galleries, special exhibitions are curated in house with the State's best and brightest artists being selected to reflect local themes.

The Gallery's flagship exhibition, the Mid West Art Prize occurs biennially and is open to all artists practicing throughout the State. Established in 2011, the Mid West Art Prize continues to be a staple in the Western Australia's Art Prize calendar.

The Gallery conducts new education and workshop activities each exhibition period, including artist's talks, film nights and lectures.

To utilise the space for your next function please contact the Coordinator Gallery and Public Art on ArtGallery@cgg.wa.gov.au or phone (08) 9956 6750 for more information.

ART02 GRAG Venue Use Application Form

ART03 GRAG Conditions of Hire

The Gallery receives support from the Geraldton Regional Art Advisory Committee, a passionate group of elected members and community members that meets quarterly to discuss gallery programming and public artwork projects. 

The Geraldton Regional Art Gallery is managed and funded by the City of Greater Geraldton with support from the State via the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Lotterywest. 

Geraldton Regional Art Gallery Strategic Plan (2023-2027)

History

The Gallery’s iconic building served as the Town Hall from 1907 and was located adjacent to the old Municipal Offices, formerly located in the present-day Art Gallery Park.  In 1964 Council officers moved to their present location in the Cathedral Avenue Civic Centre and the old Municipal offices were demolished.  However, the hall continued to serve as a venue for a variety of community functions including dances, concerts, theatre and films, civic events and a home of the Tourist Bureau.

Demands for inner city parking led to the threat of demolition in the early 1980′s. A public campaign called FROTH (Friends of the Town Hall) fought to save the building from becoming a car park. This very public campaign led to the renovation and conservation of the old town hall into Geraldton Art Gallery, which opened in August 1984. During conversion, what was the mezzanine floor became a complete second floor providing extra space for potential exhibitions spaces available to the new gallery. Renovations were carried out by the Geraldton Building Company (GBC). Facilities such as air conditioning with temperature and humidity controls, security systems and a quality hanging system were features that made the Geraldton Art Gallery one of the first A class regional galleries in Australia. In 1997 the word Regional was inserted into the title to reflect the broader range of the gallery’s services. 

The Gallery has undergone significant upgrades and refurbishments during the course of 2014 including the replacement of the aged climate control system to a new open loop Geo Thermal system, removal of asbestos, re-configuration of exhibition spaces, creation of collection management and store facilities, the installation of a hanging display system and a thorough clean up and repair of the interior and exterior. This refurbishment project will ensure that this wonderful community facility will continue to operate as an A Class venue for at least the next three decades and beyond.

The management of the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery transitioned from the Art Gallery of Western Australia to the City of Greater Geraldton in 2017.

Geraldton Visitor Centre

Visitor information returned to being available from the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery with the co-location of the two services taking place 15 September 2020.  The Gallery originally housed both the Gallery and Tourist Bureau, due to the centralised location.  Visitors and locals alike are very welcome to enjoy the Gallery exhibitions and giftshop, whilst finding out more about all amazing experiences that Geraldton has to offer.

For more Visitor Information, follow this link to the Visit Geraldton webpage.