Gotham Studios is Western Australia’s longest-running artist-run initiative. We currently have 13 studios housing 14 practising artists.
Although Gotham’s primary function (to provide working space for visual artists) has not changed, the artists of Gotham have made an enormous contribution to Western Australian culture over the past two decades, with many of the state’s leading visual artists, writers and curators having been members of the studio throughout its lifespan.
Established during a period of rich artistic innovation for urban-based artists in Western Australia, Gotham was at the centre of numerous high-profile arts events including protests, dance parties, ground-breaking exhibitions and ephemeral public artworks. The 'Peeka-Boo Gallery' was renowned as ‘the smallest art gallery in the Southern Hemisphere’ when originally established in 1988 and remains in sporadic use to the current day. The 'Gotham Dance Party', held during the same year to raise money for renovation works is remembered as an inspiration by artists who attended (Miller, 1998, p7), prefiguring the type of large-scale hybrid arts events that are now commonplace in Western Australia. Temporary installations such as the pair of mannequin legs that protruded from the building’s façade for several months during the 1990s (installed by Eric Grice and Andrew Gaynor) and idiosyncratic events such as the infamous ‘goat incident’ (a failed satanic sacrifice by a sub-leasee) have given the studios icon-status amongst the Perth arts community.
The first decade of Gotham’s life was celebrated by a retrospective exhibition, 'Gotham Times Ten' at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1998 (curated by Nikki Miller). In her catalogue essay, Miller states:
Gotham is always discussed passionately by artists. For a city that is often reckless with its history, maintaining a cavalier attitude towards art-history in particular, it has been surprising to find that many of the Gotham artists have been waiting for the tenth anniversary – vitally aware that they have been making history. (Miller, 1998, p. 4)
The significance of the studios to the cultural life of Western Australia has also been noted by Helen Carroll in her catalogue for 'A View From The Sea', a survey exhibition of contemporary early-career Western Australian art that exhibited at the University of Western Australia and Santo Tomas University in the Philippines in 1998-1999 (co-curated with Dr. David Bromfield):
Many collectives, like the fabric of the city itself, have since come and gone, but others like Gotham Studios…have survived the development boom to continually reinvent themselves as times change and artists pass through…they enjoy an almost mythic status in local Perth sub-culture as temples of youthful and often subversive creativity. (Carroll, 1998, p 15)
Gotham’s significance has also been acknowledged in countless press articles, catalogue essays and numerous professional development seminars hosted by the Australian Business and the Arts Foundation between 2007-2009.
Gotham is an icon of innovative contemporary visual arts practice in Western Australia.
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Sources
'Gotham Times Ten' (exhibition catalogue), Miller, N. (editor), ArtsWA and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 1998.
'A View From The Sea' (exhibition catalogue), Bromfield D. and Carroll, H. (editors), Art on the Move and Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, Australia, 1998.
This is a working list of the artists who have occupied studios at Gotham since 1987. If you (or someone you know) should be listed here, please send us a message so we can add you.
Founding members, 1987:
Philip Berry, David Bromilow, Jo Darbyshire, Michele Elliot, Stuart Elliot, Sarah McNamara, Andrew Nicholls, Gina Saunders, Jon Tarry, Maggie Watkin.
Studio members, 1987-2012:
Daniel Argyle, John Awrain, Nic Beames, Susanna Bennett, Corrie Birch, Bizircus, Cathy Blanchflower, Ivan Bray, Aadje Bruce, Trish Bygotte, Marie Castiglione, Jeff Chand, Genevieve Clark, Belinda Cobby, J. Coenraats, Nicole Corbett, Penny Coss, Tania Court, Chris Cromack, Andrew Daly, Mel Dare, Amber Davies, Jane Davies, Jane Divine, Michael Doherty, Mary Dudin, Pia Ednie-Brown, Miv Egan, Caspar Fairhall, Linda Fardoe, Tania Ferrier, Philip Gamblen, G. Gavin, Richard Giblett, Fred Gilbert, Jo Godfrey, Julie Goldenburg, Guy Gomez, Joe Green, Eric Grice (AKA Egg Man), Rebbeka Groetegoed, Richard Gunning, Marie Haass, Jan Hart, E.W. Hawthorn, Graham Hay, Colleen Henry, Reinhardt Herber, Andrea Hirschson, Thomas Hoareau, Despa Hondros, Chris Hopewell, Naomi Horridge, Kyle Hughes-Odges, Matthew Hunt, Marnie Hutchinson, Louise Josephs, Mary Knott, Kate Koivisto Wheeler, Thomas Kelly, Richie Kuhaupt, David Lamb, Jo Lamb, Anna Lanza, Edith Lehman, Kate Leslie, Michael Lightfoot, John Martin, Lucille Martin, Laura Martinazzo, Melissa McDougall, Clare McFarlane, Narda McMahon, Richard McMahon, Martin McManus, Kate McMillan, Anna Meara, Alley Michelle, Jenny Middlemiss, Nick Miller, Sally Mitchell, Gina Moore, Sean Morris, Rob Muir, Guido Nego, Bob Ng, Andrew Nicholls, Ceri Louise O’Connor, Paul O’Connor, Dicken Oxenburgh, Nicole Philips, Vin Pitcher, I. Pozzo, Garry Pumfrey, Penny Ralph, Kevin Robertson, Toni Rockliff, Alessandra Rossi, Megan Salmon, Kim Sanders, Gaby Sheen, Paula Grugrich Shewchuck, Mike Singe, Andrew Smith, Ric Spencer, Mark Stewart, B. Stotzer, Fiona Taylor, Yoshiko Tsushima, Rick Vermey, Robin Warren, Ken Waldrop, Clint Walker, Vyonne Walker, Philip Ward Dickson, Paul Waterson, Yvette Watt, Edwin Wilkins, Stephanie McRae Wood & Jurek Wybraniec.
- Tags:
- NGO, Nonprofit, Organization
- Category:
- Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)