Ahn Wells

The first encounter I had with Newcastle Art Space was as an emerging artist. It was 2002 and I’d entered the Newcastle Emerging Artist Prize (now Hunter Emerging Art Prize). Then gallery Director, Kerrie Coles called me to see if I was coming to opening night and I said with enthusiasm “Yes!”. Later on it clicked when I won the overall prize and I was in the audience to receive the award. Winning that award was such a confidence builder. The judge was Ann McGregor (then Director of MCA, Sydney) and Richard Suters (Newcastle Architect) bought the work. I went onto exhibit in the gallery as an artist and curator and I eventually rented a studio in the Parry St location. These were wonderful years with 24 hour access. I used to love going to the studio late at night or early in the morning by myself and working in the silence. I met and still are friends with many of the studio artists from my time there. I made many exhibitions in my studio including works that were exhibited at Newcastle Art Gallery, MAC yapang (formally Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery) and Maitland Regional Art Gallery. 

Towards the end of my time as a studio artist I joined the NAS gallery as a volunteer and learnt all about running an artist-run gallery. Everything I learnt during that time I applied during the four years I ran my own gallery, Gallery 139 on Beaumont St, Hamilton and I still use today as co-Director of Straitjacket, a commercial gallery I run with my partner Dino Consalvo. 

As I became more of an arts administrator, I joined the NAS Board with Dino. We stayed on the board for a year and helped extend artist studio and expand the gallery into the warehouse space. 

I cannot imagine Newcastle without Newcastle Art Space. It gives so many people time and space to become the artists or curator/arts workers they want to be. It’s a meeting place of like-minded people. It’s more than an art space, it’s a place for community to come together and support each other.