Wellington Shire Council was delighted to welcome local wildlife artist Annemeike Mein to the Port of Sale recently.

Annemeike and her husband, Dr Phillip Mein, were given a personal tour of the Port of Sale precinct project and took a first-hand look at the dedicated exhibition space that is being afforded to her at the Gippsland Art Gallery area in the redeveloped Wellington Centre.

Wellington Shire Council Mayor Carolyn Crossley said: “Annemieke is a world-renowned textile artist. Her first major exhibition was held at the Sale Regional Art Gallery in 1979 and she went on to exhibit her textile artwork across Australia.

“A number of Annemieke’s pieces have been collected by art galleries including the National Gallery of Victoria, and the National Gallery of Australia and some are held in private collections throughout the world.

“Annemieke and her husband have spent much of their lives living in Sale, and it seems only fitting that she should be recognised with her own permanent space when the Gippsland Art Gallery opens in its new home later this year.

“The late John Leslie OBE was a great art enthusiast and a huge fan of Annemieke’s work. The funding received from the John Leslie Foundation, as part of the Port of Sale redevelopment, has assisted to establish this permanent exhibition space to ensure that her artwork is easily accessible for viewing and is a strong tourism attraction for many visitors to the Gippsland region.”

Annemieke became fascinated with Australian flora and fauna as a child, and developed a realist approach to art while still at high school in Melbourne. Annemieke developed her craft, painting and drawing skills after moving to Sale in 1971. She began producing textile pictures in 1977 and a year later had settled on wildlife as the focus of her art designs. Each work was preceded by hours of research, field trips, observation, specimen collection, and documentation before the full-size layout was designed, and before the sewing could begin.

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