An enthusiastic and nostalgic group visited the Milkbar exhibition at the Benalla Gallery.  With Director Bryony Nainby behind the counter we enjoyed some old-fashioned lollies and marvelled at the monumental task of the artist in creating hand painted representations of his favourite products at the local milkbar of his teenage years in Melbourne.

But milkbars are still alive and well in Benalla and other regional towns and some interesting exchanges occurred when we tried to identify not only our present milkbars but also those from the past that have closed down.  Being able to walk inside the milkbar and remember products and magazines that have disappeared brought back many memories, especially the telecom public phone booth that always seemed to be nearby.

The popular children’s activity saw a wall of coloured products that stencilled papers enabled them to produce.  Altogether a fun installation for both adults and children and one that attracted up to 800 visitors on one day during the school holidays.
​
​Meg Dillon

A short video featuring Callum Preston describing this work...

This month our group was surprised with a rare treat and we thank Bryony for her continued support.

Bryony began by explaining the concept underpinning the Gallery’s Collection Lab, then gave us details of the paintings currently on display. These paintings can be declared historic and refer to the colonial period from both settler and indigenous perspectives. The Collection Lab will be a more or less permanent exhibition and will be part of the gallery’s recording and exhibiting of paintings normally kept in storage.

Bryony then brought out a storage box and showed us its contents.  There are several such storage boxes in the gallery’s collection, each containing paintings removed from their frames for more secure storage. The storage box selected by Bryony contained a series of watercolours and we were able to experience and share increasing enjoyment and surprise as each painting was uncovered.  Included was an unusual Heyson landscape believed not to have been shown in public previously.  Several other unknown watercolours followed.  Each painting offered some interest and our group clearly enjoyed viewing them and listening to Bryony’s explanations as to their importance.

Art Appreciation that was to be held on Easter Monday has been rescheduled to 9th April, when Bryony will speak about the Milk Bar Exhibition currently on at the Benalla Art Gallery.

​Neville Gibb