Bathers Beach Art Precinct (the original)

Arthur Head: Round House - Fremantle/Australia

Situated directly on the historic Arthur Head - Fremantle is the Bathers Beach Art Precinct, housing a number of established Fremantle Artists. It has been operating as a productive art space since 1992. In recent times more artists studios have been established in the old Port buildings creating a 'Bathers Beach Art Precinct'. ^[1]^[2] Fremantle is a city in on the West coast of Australia.

Joan Campbell is the original Bathers Beach Artist. She open her studio in the Old Kerosene Store building (today Kidogo Arthouse Fremantle) near the ruins of the original Fremantle Jetty in 1975.

Web site for the Bathers Beach Art Precinct (the original): Bathers Beach Art Precinct
Facebook page renamed Bathers Beach Arts - Fremantle

Bathers Beach is the jewel in Fremantle's crown, not many cities can boast a beautiful calm beach within walking distance of the town centre. It is an area that is evolving into a vibrant arts precinct which is rapidly being recognised worldwide for its beauty, heritage and the talent of the artists within it.

This active art community at Bathers Beach includes highly respected sculptors, painters, photographers, ceramic artists and designers. The Bathers Beach Art Precinct has a close working relationship with Western Australian indigenous artists, often engaging in collaborative public art projects. There are also galleries which display the works of local artists.

Bathers Beach - Fremantle/Australia

The Original Artists

Greg James Sculpture Studio Gallery (at J Shed)
J Shed Art Studio at (J Shed)
Kidogo Arthouse
Glen Cowans - Underwater Photographer
Jenny Dawson Ceramic Artist
Peter Zuvela Photographer (J Shed)
Roel Loopers Photographer

The original name "Bathers Beach Art Precinct" was first coined by the resident artists on 28 September 2009, when Kidogo Arthouse Fremantle resident artist and director, Joanna Robertson (this title is now being used by the City of Fremantle) , invited all the practising artists in the area to Kidogo Arthouse for a formal meeting to look at ways we could work more closely together to attract visitors to the Arthurs Head-Bathers Beach area. This was the first time all the artists in the area had ever met in one room together at one time!

Address

Bathers Beach, off Mews Road or Fleet Street - Fremantle, Australia

History

Walyalup is the Wadjuk-Noongar Aboriginal name for Fremantle and the Bathers Beach area is of historical significance to indigenous Australians in that Fremantle sits at the mouth of the Swan River. In Aboriginal beliefs known as Dreamtime, the Wadjuk-Noongar people consider the river to be evidence left behind of the existence of the winding path of the Rainbow Serpent, known as the Wagyl. The beach area is known as Manjarree

In 1829 British settlers claimed the land and in 1831 built Western Australia’s oldest public building, the Round House jail, on the natural promontory of Arthur Head. The Roundhouse, the Whaler's Tunnel which runs underneath it and the other historic and natural features of the area make for a wonderful journey through history, nature, culture and art.

The Round House jail was the first building to imprison Indigenous peoples of this land. Bathers Bay to Wadjemup further states:

"It was from this site [Round House] that Aboriginal prisoners were taken to Wadjemup [Rottnest Island]. For nearly a century, Wadjemup served as a prison for around 3700 male Aboriginals from Western Australia. Many were warriors and leaders who had borne the brunt of settlement frontier conflict. It is reported that 369 Aboriginal prisoners died between 1838 and 1931. They are currently buried in an Aboriginal cemetery within the Thomson Bay Settlement." (taken & referenced from Manjarree Trial p1.)