A lot of Perth’s cultural offerings revolve around the rich Aboriginal culture of the area. But there’s also a lot of contemporary art knocking about. There are many small galleries and studios that you can wonder on into to admire the work and even to have a chat with the artist themselves. One thing that the local artists are famous for is having a quirky take on art and you’ll see some really special, unique pieces.
Swan Valley, in particular, is a great place to see interesting galleries and grab some knick knacks from gift shops filled with local crafts.
Ellis House Community Art Centre, located just outside of Swan Valley, is a period house of 1912, which is now a place where local artists exhibit their work – it’s open four days a week to the public. Along with the art on display, there are the gardens around the house to explore as well as the restored building itself. The exhibits change every three weeks.
The Mundaring Arts Centre (MAC), in the Perth Hills, is an arts organisation that was formed in 1979 by passionate volunteers. You can see the work of established and promising artists spanning paintings, drawings, sculptures and more.
Japingka Gallery is the main hub for Indigenous Art in Perth. It’s been around for 30 years now and has shown the work of some of the most famous Aboriginal artists in the country. You can come to just take a sticky beak, or if you want to buy some arty goodies to take home, there are over 4,000 Aboriginal art paintings available to buy online.
If you’d like to see a little history in 3D form, a visit to Pensioner Guard Cottage is a must. It’s a restored 1800s dwelling that use to be the home of a Pensioner guard and his family. The whole house where this family of four lived only cost 15 British pounds, which is around $15 AUD today.
Another lovingly restored building is the Tranby farmhouse (Peninsula Farm), which is impressively one of the first farms built in the colony that’s still standing today. Come and visit to get a taste of what life was like during the first years of European settlement in Western Australia.
