IT HAS been a busy three years for Jess Bridgfoot since she took on the role of Bendigo Art Gallery director.
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As well as leading the gallery through the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Bridgfoot has overseen the launch of the Elvis: Direct From Graceland exhibition as well as the curation of the first Bendigo Art Gallery exhibition to tour overseas.
With so many projects on the go, Ms Bridgfoot took time to be Chris Pedler's guest on the fourth episode of the Bendigo Advertiser podcast - The Takeaway with Chris Pedler. It will be released on May 13.
She follows on from Pride Festival director John Richards (episode one), Discovery general manager Alissa van Soest (episode two) and rural health advocate Dr Skye Kinder (episode three).
PREVIOUS EPISODES:
- The Takeaway with Chris Pedler EP 1 | Pride Festival director John Richards on the evolution of Bendigo's queer experience
- The Takeaway with Chris Pedler EP 2 | Science communication Alissa van Soest discusses the development of Discovery
- The Takeaway with Chris Pedler EP3 | Bendigo doctor Skye Kinder joins discusses health care in the regions
"There's been a lot of COVID (during my tenure) but we rallied and managed to deliver a few exhibitions despite opening and closing seven times," she said.
"We genuinely forgot what is was like to have so many people in the gallery. The opening of Elvis and programs ran with Priscilla was so joyous. Atmosphere was just incredible."
Ms Bridgfoot was recently in France where the Bendigo Art Gallery's original Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion exhibition was on show at the Australian embassy.
"Unfortunately because of COVID I didn't see it during Fashion Week but it was launched during Fashion Week and from all accounts it was very well received," she said.
"It was incredible to walk into the Australian embassy building - which is a Harry Seidler-designed building best described as brutalist meets modernist.
"(It's) a big concrete cylindrical building that has this incredible array of joyous Indigenous fashion and motifs we know and love having a riot of time in heart of Paris with a view to the Eiffel Tower. It was a terrific experience."
She has also helped the gallery forge ahead with another expansion with plans to see a new building added to Bendigo's iconic View Street.
The Bendigo Art Gallery development includes plans to create another building that will include a ground and first floor to house ticketed exhibitions as well as free, collection-based exhibitions.
"We've got a little patch covered in trees (where the building will go)," Ms Bridgfoot said. "So it will be sad to lose those trees but we do have landscaping plans for the green space out the front of the original gallery building.
"The last expansion was in 2014 and was always imagined in stages. Everything is always funding contingent. This is phase 2+ of the last expansion.
"We have already outgrown our facility again. You only need to come here and see (the Elvis) exhibition to see it takes up whole gallery.
"There are only the three historic courts on display, so that means there is more than 5000 objects in our storeroom that no one is seeing."
The Takeaway will be released fortnightly through the Bendigo Advertiser website along with a feature story. It is a Bendigo Advertiser and Australian Community Media production.
If you know a central Victorian personality who would suit The Takeaway, email addynews@bendigoadvertiser.com.au
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