About

December 2017

In 1991 Bob Hawke was Prime Minister of Australia, The Simpsons debuted on Channel 10, Boris Becker beat Ivan Lendl in the Australian Open Tennis Championship, Tim Berners-Lee introduced the web browser, Nirvana released Nevermind, and Stills Gallery opened its doors at 16 Elizabeth Street, Paddington.

At the time Founder and Co-Director, Kathy Freedman announced “There’s a lot of very important and exciting work being done at present using photographic images. Stills will be providing the opportunity for people to see a wide range of current work.”

From these small beginnings – a roomsheet created on a typewriter and black & white prints selling for around $200 - Stills Gallery shifted and evolved to keep up with changes in the way we produce, enjoy and understand photography. These changes included the move to a large converted warehouse space at Gosbell St in Paddington in 1997, to accommodate the larger works being produced by artists, and the handing over of the Co-Director baton from Sandy Edwards to Bronwyn Rennex along the way.

Stills Gallery held its final exhibition mid 2017. It was one of Australia’s longest running and pre-eminent commercial galleries and one of the few specializing in contemporary photography. The gallery supported both emerging and established artists working across the spectrum of photomedia and had a long history of fostering artists throughout their careers. In Australia and overseas, Stills participated in art fairs and collaborated with curators and institutions to expose its artists’ work to the broadest possible audiences.

This website has been retained as an archive of the gallery, the artists and the exhibitions.