Wall to Wall- Benalla Art Gallery

I Headed off back out to the main street and off to the gallery just next to the lake (I thought it was a river) Past the lovely Commercial Hotel

 Walking across the Bridge I spotted this on the path below  It was painted in 2015 by Amelia Batchelor Has faded somewhat, but still charming

 The Gallery has a varied collection nd housed 2 artist from the Festival Tom Gerrard and  Callum Preston is a sucker for nostalgia. In his latest solo mission, the multi- talented Melbourne creative shares a childhood dream that anyone who grew up in the ‘burbs have their own version of.
As a child of the Melbourne suburbs in the 1990s, Preston well remembers his neighbourhood milk bar as a place of wonder: the buzzing neon, the faded posters of Diet Coke-loving windsurfers, collector cards, musk sticks, jelly snakes, cigarette ads, the ubiquitous smell of pies and the enticing crack of opening soft drink cans.
In Callum Preston’s MILK BAR, he turned his efforts to recreating his own childhood milk bar, completely by hand — one chip packet and Coke can at a time. Like any milk bar, Preston’s is filled with the usual suspects — magazines, chocolate bars, soft drinks — but each one is completely handmade by the artist.

The back grafittied 

Local Ads

Even a hand made phone with phone card 

Opposite the Gallery is Benalla's Ceramic Mural a curving, complex structure.

 The mural, which became part of the Benalla Art Gallery collection in 2005, was built by skilled traditional potters and guided amateurs, young and old. Contributors to this whimsical gallery and performance space include nationally significant artists, 1500 students and countless volunteers.

The Ceramic Mural project was initiated by local community organisations and local, state and federal governments, and was funded by the Australia Council. It commenced as a community art project in 1983, integrating the skills of ceramic artists, architects and the wider community. Judy Lorraine was appointed as Artist in Residence in 1985 and created the model and architectural drawing. The project took 25 years to complete and was officially opened in 2010 by the then Mayor of Benalla Rural City Council, Councillor Bill Hill.