On Thursday February 26, the Scarborough Hotel’s Matthew Gillett Gallery will host Mercato Arte, an arts market celebrating the best in artistic talent from the South Coast. We asked Matthew Gillett himself to talk us through the idea.
Tell us about the history of Matthew Gillett Gallery.
The Matthew Gillett Gallery came about with an idea of changing what I thought was an outdated recipe for galleries and their take on showing art. I had often heard artists complain about it and decided, ‘Hey, the best way to combat an unsatisfied situation is to create a new recipe,’ and the Matthew Gillett Gallery was born. It’s nearly two years old and the response has been super-positive.
How did the concept of Mercato Arte come about?
Mercarto Arte came about with most emerging creatives I meet through the gallery stating that there just aren’t enough options for showing their craft. I had seen a couple of art markets and thought my gallery as a venue is superb for such an event. It’s an amazing way to encourage emerging creatives to show their work, with the added bonus of then being involved in an eight-week show at the gallery and using it as a stepping stone into their creative endeavours.
What kind of participants are you looking for?
We are looking for every form of creativity. There are so many avenues of artistic creativity; different mediums, styles and concepts. We want it to showcase all of them. Without an opportunity to show your talents, only half of the experience is completed.
The South Coast is home to some great artistic talent – what is it about the region that inspires creativity?
This stretch of coast offers so much inspiration and is full of colourful characters. Add that to being still only an hour out of Sydney, and it allows such a nice mix of influences for amazing creative people to have a broad range of inspiration blended with accessibility to everything else.
What’s next on the agenda for the gallery?
2015 is shaping up to be a huge year with Mecarto Arte being the first event in the calendar. There’ll also be a similar winter solstice market event, and alongside our already well-known eight-week rotating shows we are launching the Matthew Gillett Gallery Art Prize, and a couple of cool things that are still in the pipeline, all with the concept of a non-traditional gallery with non-traditional takes on showcasing art in a unique location. All in all, it makes the gallery a place to watch for 2015.
Mercato Arte is showing atMatthew Gillett Gallery, Scarborough HotelonThursday February 26.Artist applications close Wednesday January 21, more info online.
