12 Years of The Corner Store Gallery, Orange NSW
The Corner Store Gallery over the years. Orange NSW.
12 Years of The Corner Store Gallery
Twelve years ago, I opened the doors of The Corner Store Gallery on Summer Street in Orange, with a simple idea. I wanted to create a space where Australian artists could show their work, and where people could fall in love with it.
This building has been part of my life a lot longer than twelve years, though. When I was a kid growing up in Orange, this was my local corner store. I used to walk home from school in the 90s and stop in to buy lollies from Thommos. I had no idea back then that one day I'd be running a gallery out of the same building. When the chance to take it on came up, I don't think I've ever wanted anything more in my life.
I studied Fine Arts at the University of Newcastle, taught art classes in the US over a couple of summers, and came home to spend a few years as Artist in Residence at Kinross Wolaroi School from 2011 to 2014. I opened The Corner Store Gallery halfway through 2014, while I was still finishing up at Kinross, running both for a while until the gallery took over properly.
I couldn't have done any of it without my family. In the early days, we lived in a one-bedroom flat attached to the gallery. Eventually we built a home on the property, and I moved in just before my son was born in 2018. This place has genuinely grown up alongside my own family, which still feels pretty special to think about.
My own studio is attached to the gallery too, so this has always been a working gallery in every sense. I live and work on site, which means the space is never really quiet, even outside opening hours. There's usually something being framed, packed, or hung somewhere on the property.
Twelve years on, the idea behind it all hasn't changed. Every piece on these walls is chosen personally. Every artist has a story worth knowing, and I still love finding out what it is. Whether you're buying your first original artwork or you've been collecting with us for years, you get the same welcome walking through that door.
We've grown a lot along the way too. Two annual art prizes, open calls, off-site exhibitions, an artist mentoring program, art fairs, and an online collection that reaches people all over the country. Lots of different ways to create opportunities for artists, alongside everything happening here in the gallery itself. But the heart of it is still the same. Supporting Australian artists at every stage of their career, and making original art feel like something anyone can bring home, not just something for the initiated.
Thank you to everyone who has walked through our doors over the last twelve years, whether you've bought a piece, come to an opening, sent an email asking a question, or just stopped by to look. This gallery is what it is because of you.
Here's to the next twelve.
Madi
This would have been one of my first Instagram posts ever! Remember the good old days when everything was square and you put a terrible filter on everything!? 2014.
The Corner Store Gallery when we bought it in January 2014.
The Corner Store Gallery when we bought it in January 2014. Back of the building (our humble house).
From our first ever “pop up” exhibition (before official opening) in 2014, to the opening of the gallery in August 2014.
Gallery director Madeline Young at the first ever Opening Night for “Breathing Space” by the oh-so-talented Nicole Chaffey, August 2104.
The Corner Store Gallery’s first ever sale! “Breathing Space” by Nicole Chaffey, August 2014.
The Corner Store Gallery before and after first ever exhibition, August 2014.
The Corner Store Gallery exterior before and after first ever exhibition, August 2014.
“Breathing Space” opening night by Nicole Chaffey, August 14th 2014.
One of our first Journey Person Popups (somewhere around 2015/16).
The Corner Store Gallery, when it was Flynns Store in the 1950s or 60s, provided by a young man who also grew up in the back of the shop as a child.
Gallery Director and Artist Madeline Young in her gallery home 2016, photo by Megan Woods.
The Corner Store Gallery Director Madeline Young, 2021. Photo by Monique Lovick.
The Corner Store Gallery exterior 2024. Photo by Monique Lovick.
Artist and Corner Store Gallery Director Madeline Young, 2024. Photo by Monique Lovick.
Artist and Corner Store Gallery director Madeline Young, 2026. Photo by Kirsten Cunningham.
The Corner Store Gallery 2023. Orange NSW. Photo by Kirsten Cunningham.