Jolly good show ... Laurie and Anne Bould, of Chiltern, Victoria, enjoy a quiet beer at the Space@565 Gallery and Cocktail Bar in the City of Sydney RSL. Photo: Brendan Esposito
MAKE room, pokies and bistros - art is moving into RSL clubs.
But not just your standard decorations and memorabilia. A curated art gallery has opened at a Sydney RSL, a first for a registered club in the state, Clubs NSW says.
The manager of Space@565 Gallery & Cocktail Bar at the City of Sydney RSL, Mark Kuczera, said he wanted to do something different and give people a chance to exhibit art when they might not otherwise have one.
But patrons took some convincing, he said. "Once they got there, they were pleasantly surprised."
The chief executive of Clubs NSW, Anthony Ball, said today's clubs were a world away from those of the 1970s and could include a childcare centre, a car wash or … a gallery.
From the positive response to the gallery at the city RSL, ''I think it won't be long before more clubs decide to explore their artistic side", he said.
The large gallery room at the city RSL, opposite World Square, contains a bar and bistro but now has about 35 photographs, paintings and drawings on display. More than 25,000 people visited the room last year, the club says.
Seven TV screens around the floor show images of the artworks, which are to be changed monthly. Most are for sale at less than $900.
Having a beer, Jim Blundell, 74, reflected the consensus view: ''I think it's a great idea because it gives you something to look at … You can browse around.''
Carole Moss, 66, thought it much better than looking at ''blank walls'' or displays that remained the same for years. Her husband, Ken, 72, said he might suggest the idea to their local RSL in Dee Why.
The RSL gallery arrives as art continues to move from the traditional white cube gallery into pubs and cafes, shopfronts, back alleys, parks and even a reservoir.
Life-drawing classes are held weekly at Arthouse Hotel in the city and the Friend in Hand pub in Glebe.
The Head On Photo Festival, starting in a month, is expanding to about 80 venues including cafes and restaurants. Its director, Moshe Rosenzveig, said it would also exhibit in Centennial Park and in its historic "superintendent's residence".
There would also be displays in the refashioned Paddington Reservoir Gardens, in shop windows along Oxford Street and in a foyer of the Bondi Pavilion.