By Tyler Wright
A beloved community art gallery in Kalorama has welcomed the community back to its doors after a car crash rendered part of the building unusable last August.
Kapi Art Space’s gallery had been closed for nine months since a stolen Audi ploughed through the front of the building, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to artwork.
“It was very tough, and a huge shock, of course, waking to find that your business has been crashed into and everything changed overnight,” Kapi Art Space’s managing director Heather Bradbury said.
“Since then we’ve been able to keep running classes out the back, which has been really good, but the actual gallery function with artists had to cease for a while.
“People have been so supportive and classes certainly didn’t diminish. People were still keen to come, even though it was in the back door.”
The gallery’s reopening was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday 28 May at 2pm, attended by members of the Kalorama Mount Dandenong Fire Brigade, who were first responders at the car crash last year.
“One of the main reasons for this reopening is to say thank you to the community for cheering us on,” Ms Bradbury said.
“We wanted to come back bigger and stronger and more helpful than ever.”
An exhibition featuring 47 pieces of art from around 30 different art students was also on display form Saturday 27 May to mark the occasion.
“We’ve got some of the floors re-sanded and polished, so when you come in, it feels very fresh and new,“ Ms Bradbury said.
“We’ve got new signage. I really wanted colours that matched with the environment so it felt really warm and welcoming.“
Kapi Art Space found a temporary home in Olinda while the Kalorama gallery was being repaired.
The student exhibition will run for three weeks until 19 June, from Monday to Friday between 11am and 5pm.
