{"id":2933,"date":"2022-11-29T16:57:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T08:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armadaleandproud.net\/?p=2933"},"modified":"2022-11-29T16:58:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T08:58:55","slug":"armadale-society-of-artists-inc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armadaleandproud.net\/armadale-society-of-artists-inc\/","title":{"rendered":"Armadale Society of Artists (Inc)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brief History of the Armadale Society of Artists (Inc)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1987 a small, dedicated band of artists got together and formed the Armadale Society of Artists. Monthly members\u2019 meetings were held at the Armadale District Town Hall and the Society slowly increased its membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, the Society was offered the chance to have its own premises in Railway Avenue, Kelmscott, occupying a property owned by the MRA (and earmarked for eventual demolition).  It became known as the Kelmscott Art House. We were then able to hold classes and workshops and have a gallery (albeit small) showcasing local artists\u2019 works. All of these new opportunities were embraced by our members and enabled the Society to further increase membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late 2018, due to the Denny Avenue redevelopment, we moved to new leased premises at 8 Hobbs Drive, Armadale, (previously the St John\u2019s Ambulance building) which we called Art House on Hobbs. The lease from owner, Dale Cottages was initially for 3 years, with an option for a further 3 years. We set up a gallery of Members\u2019 artworks which we opened to the public which we named \u201cDoust Hall\u201d after our founding President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 we had a growing membership of 220 members. And after many busy bees by our committee and members we were able to hold daily classes and informal painting groups and many weekend workshops. The lease agreement also had a three-month option to terminate the lease by either party, which is the option that Dale Cottages took due to redevelopment arrangements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 2020 ASA needed to vacate Art House on Hobbs, and the hunt for a new home base began. This was also a time when Covid had put a stop to our classes and informal groups. We were fortunate that in October 2020 we were able to obtain a lease for a Pop-up shop in the Armadale City Shopping Centre where our members could exhibit and sell their art 7 days a week. This was managed by a coordinator and subcommittee members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our classes and informal groups continued for some time in different rooms at the Greendale Centre and we also held our monthly members meetings there on a hire basis. We were also given an area to store our supplies required for our classes and meetings which was a great benefit. Further classes were run from Champion Lakes on an hourly hire arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2022 our previous President of four years Trish Halloran stepped down along with the Secretary, Treasurer, Membership officer and two committee members. Mary Jarrett was elected President with a new Secretary, Treasurer, and mainly new committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March we were given notice to vacate our Pop-up shop and transfer and set up in a new one, only to be told in April that we would need to vacate that one by May, as a permanent tenant had been found and there were no other options available for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we remained  active within the Armadale area and managed to participate in many community arts events such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n