Established in 1968, Ararat Gallery TAMA (Textile Art Museum Australia) holds a unique place amongst Australia’s public galleries, through its longstanding commitment to textile and fibre art. A curatorial and collection focus that began in the early 1970s. The TAMA Collection is an extraordinary repository that tracks the development of textile and fibre-based practice from this time, through to today.
In August 2018 Ararat Gallery celebrated its 50th year. This milestone coincided with the completion of the ambitious Ararat Arts Precinct Redevelopment Project. The Gallery has doubled its exhibition and collection spaces with two new collection areas and a purpose-built gallery devoted to promoting excellence and innovation in textile art practice. For the first time, the Gallery’s extraordinary textile art collection will have a dedicated exhibition space with a changing display that tracks the story of textile art practice in Australia.
To mark the opening of the refurbished and expanded Ararat Gallery, and in recognition of its significant textile collection and contemporary programming, a new brand was launched and the Gallery was renamed Ararat Gallery TAMA (Textile Art Museum Australia).