After being forced to finally close its much-loved Subiaco home a few years ago, The Corner Gallery has re-emerged just in time for summer — this time as a pop-up space right next door to the Regal Theatre on Hay Street.
The original Corner Gallery built a reputation as one of Perth’s most eclectic creative hubs, hosting everything from rowdy gigs to intimate exhibitions, workshops, launches and plenty of late-night “how did we get here?” moments. Now, for a few short months, the crew behind it are bringing the magic back.
Ahead of its launch party on Friday 14 November, we caught up with the man behind the dream, Alex Miller, to reflect on the chaos, community and creativity that shaped the old Corner Gallery — and what’s planned for round two…
The Corner Gallery was a Subi institution for years, hosting hundreds of exhibitions, gigs and workshops at the old gallery – what are some of the moments or shows that really stick with you from those times?
The opening night is forever ingrained in my memory, yet I barely remember any of it. We held a major group show at our other space down the street and what later became The Corner Gallery was the after party. I just remember rocking up to 600 people on the intersection of Olive and Hay Street waiting to get in – we ran out of booze three times, bands playing under the fluoro lights in the ceiling, no PA system, no float in the tills, no water and no idea what we were doing but it was the best time ever.
The night Electric Toad played with 24 people on stage and the building turned off was pretty hilarious – it was all of Tame Impala, most of POND, and a bunch of iconic Perth musicians that made up the Toad that night.
We incorporate some kind of charitable donation from each show and my favourite being the last major show we held in the old space called Eight Inch Blunt. We raised funds that went to Spinifex Skateboards out in Ltyentye Apurte on Eastern Arrernte country, which was used for their annual ‘First Nations Skate Tours’ which they weren’t in a position to hold that year.
The program takes 10 kids from the community to one of the capital cities to skate demos, visit skate shops, hold workshops, meet other kids their age that share the same passion and to see what a career in skateboarding could actually look like. That one was special to end with because that’s where The Corner Gallery started, a bunch of skateboarders and misfits that somehow got a key to a warehouse.
You’ve kicked things off in the new space with weekly Life Drawing nights on Wednesdays (book here) – what can people expect from those sessions, and do they need any experience to come along?
We run an extremely chilled session for 90 minutes with multiple poses and a break in the middle, each week playing a different record. Zero experience is required! The best part of the night is when people share their work with each other, have a laugh (or cry) and leave inspired with some new skills. We have a range of charcoals and drawing supplies to choose from so people just need to bring themselves and their curiosity.
What other kind of exhibitions, events or collaborations are you hoping to bring into the pop-up over summer?
We have a lot of live music shows and exhibitions announced soon for December on our socials and newsletter, one that I’m particularly excited to see is cough Carla Geneve cough. We’re also cooking up something extra large that we’re hoping to get in before we have to vacate. That one I really can’t talk about though cough Block Party cough.
What are you hoping you can bring to Perth’s creative community over the next few months?
The Corner Gallery has always been a place for artists, art lovers, people feeling lost, people feeling found, people from minority groups and diverse backgrounds to all feel a part of something, share their ideas, be seen and heard.
A home for the underground. I don’t know how it became that but it took on that role by itself. I just hope that essence can be reignited in the short time we have here, that’s all I’d like to see!
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Image Credit: Supplied