BEAUMONT Street is home to Newcastle's freshest art gallery, with a new space opening in Hamilton later this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Newcastle-based artist and curator Ahn Wells is putting the final touches on Gallery 139, which she promises will have a slight twist on your typical art gallery.
The gallery will double as a shop, selling art books stocked by Hamilton-based MacLean's Booksellers, as well as books and other works by locally published authors and musicians.
Wells said it could be difficult to find these local, niche products.
"At Gallery 139 you can walk in and know that you can buy the latest Newcastle Poetry Anthology or the debut album by musician De'May," she said.
Wells has spent the past 17 years studying, exhibiting, curating and working in art galleries, and is the director of Newcastle Art Space.
She was the former co-director of PODspace and helped put together exhibitions for Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, where she works on a casual basis.
Wells said the time had come for her to take the plunge and open a space of her own.
"I feel as though I've been doing a bit of an apprenticeship for over 10 years," she said.
"It's time to see if I can do it all independently.
"If something goes wrong, I only have myself to blame."
Ms Wells said she owed a big thank-you to her parents, who helped her out financially with the new gallery.
■ Gallery 139 opens Wednesday, February 18, and is located at 139 Beaumont Street, Hamilton. Gallery 139's debut exhibition will include many Newcastle-based artists, including John Turier, Lezlie Tilley and Pablo Tapia.
Go to facebook.com/gallery139 for information about future exhibitions to be held at Gallery 139.