The Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre has welcomed a new director, who wants to help build the sites already “excellent reputation”.
Ashleigh Whatling has worked in galleries around Australia and said she had had her eye on a position at the Riddoch for a while.
“The Riddoch has an excellent reputation for programming within the regional arts network and I would like to continue to develop that reputation of national significance in terms of cultural conversation,” she said.
Ms Whatling hopes to understand the community’s art interests and develop a five year strategic plan for the centre.
“I’ll be reaching out to hear from the community about what they want the Riddoch to be, including what we do well and what we can improve on. I want to learn from the city and then reflect it back to them,” she said.
“My goal would be to continue to showcase local talent and to also bring some big names to the region so that we don’t have to rely on going all the way to Adelaide to see some of those big shows, we can develop and host them here.”
She said she looked forward to developing original and local programs, and fostering local talent.
“Hyper local content is really what will draw people from other places and Mount Gambier is really rich in stories that only we can tell, the volcanic landscape is rich with stories,” she said.
“Artists are always drawn to these dramatic landscapes, so I’m keen for the Riddoch to become a place for original content you can’t find anywhere else.
“I think storytelling is at the core of what regional galleries can do. There is an opportunity to further build connections with our Boandik community and understand our stories and how they relate to the deep history of this place.”
Through this approach, Ms Whatling said the Riddoch had the potential to become a destination gallery and looked forward to building it up.
“We can encourage people from further afield to come and spend time in Mount Gambier and one of the ways we can do that is by having a flagship gallery.”
