9 December 2009

Local gallery receives high praise from Tourism Victoria

The Central Goldfields Art Gallery in Neill Street, Maryborough has been awarded a rating of 9 out of 10 in a recent "mystery shopper" evaluation by Tourism Victoria. The evaluation took place in August this year and assessed various elements of the gallery such as first impressions, signage, and response to enquiries.

Throughout the year, anonymous representatives of Tourism Victoria visit tourist attractions. The visits are unannounced and the representatives determine the quality of their visit based on a number of aspects and give the attraction an overall rating.

The gallery's specific score was 91%, which is an outstanding result.

Central Goldfields Shire Mayor Chris Meddows-Taylor said it demonstrates that our region has much to offer visitors.

"Central Goldfields Shire has always been proud of its rich heritage culture. In the area of arts, we are really growing at a strong and steady pace. This recognition from Tourism Victoria is very rewarding," Cr Meddows-Taylor said.

In the coming weeks, the gallery will be exhibiting works by the late Betty Neville. As a tribute, Betty's son Peter, a retired teacher from Maryborough, has kindly loaned the gallery a number of oil and water colour paintings by the multi-award winning artist.

Also on display will be a selection of artwork from the gallery's collection, including paintings by Pro Hart, and local artists Philip Adams; Patricia Walsh; and Tiffany Titshall.

The gallery collection, including the works of Betty Neville, will be exhibited from Thursday, 17 December 2009 until mid February 2010.

For further information, contact Kay Parkin at the gallery on 5460 4588.

Media contact: Kay Parkin, Art Manager, Central Goldfields Shire Council, 03 5460 4588