BACK in 2000, a group of dedicated people lead by local artist, teacher and art historian, Heather Winch, agreed to run an inaugural Wisemans Ferry Art Prize. 

Home to roving waterways, famous national parks, and the state’s oldest ferry crossing, Wisemans Ferry is a unique town. Though a fringe community, tucked away in the outskirts of Sydney, the valley is filled with local artists.   

After the inaugural Wisemans Ferry Art Prize and its success, Heather and her group of like-minded friends thought it was well overdue for a community art gallery. 

The Ferry Artists Gallery is a not-for-profit community-run gallery with a shop front on Old Northern Road, Wisemans Ferry. 

Inside, the work of local artists, ranging from painters, resin artists, jewellers, photographers, sculptors to potters, fibre artists, printmakers, calligraphers, and weavers, fills the gallery.

Members support the gallery, one day a month volunteering their time to work in the commercial shopfront. Most of the members are artists themselves, and with their membership, they can display their art for sale. 

At first being exclusively for Hawkesbury artists, the Gallery now welcomes members from all regions of Sydney, as long as they can complete a mandatory day’s duty manning the shop.

‘There is a great mix of people back here, a huge mix of economic diversity, and the artists are a part of that,’ says Carol Gill, President of Ferry Artists Incorporated and local artist. ‘The artists are the ones that find it hard to earn a living… to have a gallery, a community, that sells your art locally is a godsent to local artists.’

Along with servicing the artists, Wisemans residents have the opportunity to buy pieces of artwork without the effort of a trek closer to Sydney. 

Open daily, Ferry Artists Galley holds four exhibitions throughout the year. In February, they showcase the local art at a discounted piece, to clear out the studio for a new year. In May and July, there are themed exhibitions for the public to browse. 

On the 9th of November, the Gallery opened their newest exhibition in time for Christmas “Ferry Artists Presents!” which will run until January. At the opening, Mayor of Hornsby Shire Council, Warren Waddell, and Mayor of Hawkesbury City Council, Les Sheather were in attendance. 

‘Locals want a beautiful gift for somebody… they know they only have to drive into Wisemans. They love it because they are supporting local people. It’s a big deal out here, supporting local people,’ says Carol. 

The members of the Gallery have started a new venture, known as “River Sketchers”. Open to anyone, the casual get-together is an opportunity for the public to come, bring out their drawing materials, with a drink and sandwich in hand, and draw and paint the landscape. River Sketchers have set up in St Albans, the Canoelands Orchard, and the rock shore overlooking the Hawkesbury. 

‘We all sat around one day complaining that we don’t get outside to draw enough,’ explains Carol. ‘We are looking forward to that continuing, and looking forward to more people joining us.’

For more information about the Ferry Artists Gallery, visit ferryartists.org.au