mmg.com.au

Humala House Gallery in Kyabram had been booked solidly since it opened nearly five years ago and it isn’t showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The gallery is already booked out until nearly the end of this year.

Gallery: All the art on display at Humala

Gallery owner and artist Lynne Hume believes the popularity of her gallery is due to a lack of gallery space in the district.

Though it has exhibited works from artists as far afield as Melbourne, most are district artists based in Kyabram, Echuca, Cobram, Shepparton and other areas.

Mrs Hume said to her knowledge it was the only gallery in the district where artists could display a solo exhibition, free of charge, without having to worry about personally staffing the exhibition.

The gallery is not for profit, with a percentage of profits from works sold going towards covering the gallery overheads.

‘‘I know how hard it was for me travelling all over the place (as an exhibiting artist),’’ Mrs Hume said.

Mrs Hume, herself a mixed-media artist (she uses all kinds of materials and creates a variety of works), came to art relatively late in her life.

Told at school she could be a nurse, a teacher or a secretary, she became a nurse, and it wasn’t until about 15 years ago she ventured into art.

She then went on to complete a degree in her new field.

Mrs Hume is passionate about nurturing and celebrating high quality local artwork, which she is aiming to do with her gallery.

‘‘It’s a way of getting your art out and your name known.’’

Mrs Hume lives next door to the gallery, having bought the property after shifting from a studio in the main street of Kyabram early last year.

The gallery has two main rooms and another room dedicated to cats.

It houses cat sculptures, paintings, bookmarks and small collectibles, even catering for cat-haters, with small, flat ceramic cats with a tyre-strip painted down the middle.

Apart from permanent and temporary exhibitions, the gallery also runs regular workshops and classes for kids ad adults.

There is jewellery and stationery on display and for sale, as well as Mrs Hume’s own art works.

And, each month, 10 per cent of any art work sold goes towards a local charity.

The ‘Miniscule’ exhibition, featuring macro photography by Chelsea Nicholson, opens on Sunday and runs until the end of March.

The gallery is open Sundays from 10am til 4pm and has a Facebook page for more information.