A milestone in masterpieces: 50 years of Maitland Regional Art Gallery

Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) will celebrate a significant milestone in 2025, marking 50 years as a cultural hub of art, community and connection on Wonnarua Country.

To mark the occasion, the Gallery will host a community birthday celebration on Saturday 29 November, welcoming residents, friends, benefactors and visitors from across the Hunter to join the festivities.

“2025 marks a significant milestone for MRAG, a gallery with art, community and connection at its heart,” said Maitland Regional Art Gallery Director, Gerry Bobsien.

“We are proud of what MRAG has achieved over the past 50 years. The strong feedback we receive from visitors highlights the vital role a cultural hub like MRAG plays in supporting wellbeing and fostering connection across the community.

“In 2024, MRAG welcomed more than 120,000 visitors, a reflection of the Gallery’s growing popularity and its contribution to keeping Maitland vibrant, connected and thriving.”

MRAG’s story began with the Maitland Art Prize, first held in 1957, which paved the way for a permanent gallery. After years of community advocacy, the Maitland City Art Gallery officially opened at Brough House on Church Street on 19 April 1975, with Margaret Sivyer OAM as its founding director.

The Gallery has grown in step with Maitland, one of New South Wales’ fastest-growing regional cities. In 2003, MRAG moved to its current home on High Street, a heritage-listed building designed by government architect Walter Liberty Vernon. Major renovations followed, and the Gallery reopened in 2009 by the late celebrated artist Margaret Olley AC.

“MRAG is a welcoming art institution with community at its core, and is much loved in Maitland, across the Hunter and nationally,” Ms Bobsien said.

“This anniversary provides an opportunity to celebrate MRAG’s rich history and significant collection, while recognising the strong connections built with artists, and local and First Nations communities.”

As part of the 50th anniversary program, MRAG will present Shared, a major exhibition featuring works collected and gifted to the Gallery over the past five decades along with the launch of a new art book for kids produced by MRAG.

MRAG will also be hosting a Garden Party Soirée on Saturday 29 November from 3pm to 6pm, inviting guests to don their favourite hat, enjoy a glass of Boydell’s wine and savour cucumber sandwiches to the sounds of the Sydney Ensemble String Quartet. This free community event promises an afternoon of celebration, with bookings essential.

For more information about the birthday celebration and Shared exhibition, visit mrag.org.au