About the Gallery

For over 100 years, Tamworth Regional Gallery has provided access to the arts in a regional centre. The Gallery first opened on 1 June 1919 as the Tamworth Art Salon and Art Library. It was established with a gift of 100 artworks and art reference books by the local artist and collector John Salvana ‘to encourage art in the country’. Salvana’s donation included incomplete works designed to demonstrate to students how an artwork is constructed. Salvana believed in providing an art gallery where young children and those with an interest might be encouraged to study art and to learn from viewing original works at first hand. Education continues to be a key focus of the Gallery to this day. Tamworth Regional Gallery is ideally located in the heart of Tamworth’s CBD on Peel Street, close to shops, parking and the new riverside precinct.

The Gallery offers a rotating program of touring exhibitions of national significance, alongside curated exhibitions of works by regional artists
and exhibitions from our permanent collection. Every year, Tamworth Regional Gallery delivers a rich and varied series of workshops, lectures, artist talks, events and engaging public programs. The Gallery houses purpose-built exhibition spaces, conservation collection storage, a retail shop, the Esther Halliday Studio and a research library, and is a fully accessible space. Tamworth Regional Gallery is the result of over 100 years of sustained support from our community, alongside forward planning and investment by Tamworth Regional Council.

Tamworth is a regional city that supports a surrounding area of towns and outlying villages. The Gallery, too, provides support for both regional and remote communities in outlying areas. We embrace our location in a diverse cultural landscape, and our responsibility to deliver to our public as part of a close community. We aim to be inclusive, and to genuinely and actively engage with our communities. The Gallery seeks to foster, promote and enhance understanding and enjoyment of the visual arts through its permanent collection, temporary exhibitions and public programs.

Our Vision, Purpose, Values and Goals reflect our current context.