Perth Cultural Centre
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9492 6600
Website
Youtube
One of those places you must visit in Perth. Why? It is free! It is good!
The permanent exhibitions (colonial painting, classic painting and Aboriginal gallery) alternate with yearly free exhibitions, the Year-12 students being a must as it showcases the great talent of the emerging Perthian Artistic Community.
Now and then, the gallery also holds International exhibitions showcasing overseas pieces, but they are somewhat downgraded, never the super-duper ones. Even the super-duper ones are somewhat adjusted to the gallery and never the whole thing you can see elsewhere. The last example being the Picasso to Warhol, with a uneven selection of pieces, the pices by Picasso, Matisse, Miro or Deschamps under-represented and being secondary pieces in general, not the super-duper ones. Even the guides of the exhibition were mediocre, but at least people had the recorded comment of the pieces, which is something.
Although you cannot compare this gallery to the interstate ones (I thought that Darwin's or Adelaide's were better! just to mention two little cities that are poorer than Perth), European or American ones, it is a good place to visit. If you are a foreigner you will enjoy the Aboriginal area. The permanent collections are terrific, with wonderful pieces by Australian and International artists, that might surprise you. Some of the free exhibitions by local artists are also great, not so popular with the general public, perhaps, but at least the real thing. I still remember the terrific sculpture exhibition by Gabriella Piccini, that let me wow.
The gallery also has a mini-theatre where some functions are somewhat held, and artists talks. Check their website to see what is going on.
The AGWA is alive, that is a good thing. The bad thing is that it does not renovate or re-invent itself as much as it would be needed for the gallery to become a first-class gallery. All comes down to money and demand for Art exhibitions in Perth, and it seems that the new well-off people in Perth are more into designer-brands shops than into Art; they invest in the stock-market but they are not patrons of anything that is not themselves. If I was a millionaire I would be donating to the AGWA. Give me the millions! Each time I pass by the "Gucci Plasticucci" shop I think of this. All comes down to what the people or Perth want or are interested in, and the demand for true art in Perth seems limited, so our gallery is, how to put it? a bit parochial. Cultural and Education institutions do not promote free culture or free talks about Art, so the general knowledge is minimal or non-existing. People know big names, but do not know, understand or appreciate why they are masters or well known. This being so, they will rarely go beyond the obvious jewels of the past and show any interest on contemporary Art that is not conventional in forms or languages, and are satisfied with the "famous" artists and pieces of art, and not even with those if they are not "beautiful". 
