REGIONAL GALLERIES IN CRISIS

John McDonald decries the trend in New South Wales regional art galleries, where some local councils have tried to reduce costs by cutting back on professional staff, a crisis that is amounting to “a humiliating return to amateurism”.

TEN YEARS AGO, LEIGH SUMMERS, THE ENTERPRISING director of the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, had the bright idea of starting an art prize. She decided on still-life as a theme, and found a generous sponsor in Dr Mal Eutick, the head of a pharmaceuticals company. The Prize was called EMSLA – the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award – in honour of Mal’s parents.

Rather than rest on her laurels, Summers found