What's New

Three-year lease puts art on the main street

Flagstaff Team

A new era…Peninsula Capital’s Nick Turley with the Depot’s Amy Saunders

The Depot Artspace now has a permanent gallery on Victoria Rd, with a three-year lease signed for the ground floor of the former Devonport Borough Council building.
The Depot had already leased the top floor of the building for studio space, and set up a pop-up gallery at street level following floods at its Clarence St building on 31 August.
The flood and aftermath was “quite stressful”, said Depot director Amy Saunders, but it offered the chance to see if a commercial offering on Devonport’s main street worked.
The lease was signed with property owners Peninsula Capital at the end of last year and the Depot formally began occupancy at the start of last week.
The gallery has 85 artists on its books, around half of them local, including those working in studios upstairs.
Tourists and locals alike have loved the new space, said Saunders. Sales had been spread between international visitors, domestic tourists and locals.
Peninsula residents had also been employed in the shop, which further emphasised the flow through to the local economy, Saunders said.
Securing the ground floor also meant the Depot had further scope for open days, as well as hosting events and workshops, she said.
Peninsula Capital’s property development manager, Nick Turley, said the Depot’s becoming a permanent fixture at 3 Victoria Rd was part of “Devonport coming back to life and getting the local economy moving”.
As part of the building makeover, it was thought sound-reduction measures might have been needed. But once art was installed, the echoing reduced.
Historic links with the old council building include its desks being used for a counter. A large, fully functioning safe was likely to become a “destination, talking point” with some form of exhibition, Saunders said.

Group show launches in new gallery

A group show featuring the Depot’s Victoria Rd studio artists starts at its street-level gallery this week.
The show, Studio D3: Momentum, opens on 1 February and will showcase the resident artists’ work, including large-scale world-class photography, weaving, ceramics, painting, sculpture, jewellery and printmaking.
The artists will host a floor talk at 10am on 22 February, followed by an open studio tour.
Studio D3 artists include: Fiona Mackay (ceramics), Celia Walker (printmaker), Mickey Smith (multidisciplinary), Karen Rubado (weaver), Janet Mazenier (painter), Rose Evans (jeweller) and Pigeonhole Collective including Farah Latif (sculptor), Jaymin Patel (portraiture painter), Anoushka Coulson (painter), Jack Valentine (painter), Bailey McNally (mixed media), Nathan Wilson (artist, writer and performer), Kiara Schaumkell (textile sculptures), Daniel Sisel (portraiture) and Sasha Ellis (painter).

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