Valerie's Vision: A Permanent Home For Tully's Arts And Culture

Dr Valerie Keenan’s passion for preserving Tully’s rich Indigenous cultural heritage is central to her vision for a permanent arts and cultural precinct in the town

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After three years of exhibitions, workshops and fundraising, Tully Arts and Cultural Precinct Inc is making a determined bid to secure a permanent home in the former Visitor Information Centre.

At the heart of the campaign is local artist, researcher and cultural advocate Dr Valerie Keenan, whose lifelong passion for art, history and Indigenous culture has helped inspire the community initiative.

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The vision is to transform the Bruce Highway premises into a year-round cultural hub, featuring a public gallery, heritage displays, creative workshops and a Keeping Place for Aboriginal cultural objects.

The organisation has occupied part of the building for nearly two years and has lodged an expression of interest with Cassowary Coast Regional Council to secure its future.

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For committee chair Valerie, it's an opportunity to create something she believes Tully has needed for decades. Born and raised in the district, Valerie remembers a thriving local arts community, including her mother, Gladys Henry, the first female councillor for the Cardwell Shire Council and an artist with a deep interest in local Aboriginal culture.  

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“There were more opportunities for artists in my mother’s day, but by the time I left school, there were very few pathways into the arts,” Valerie recalled.

It wasn't until her 40s, when she was living in the Torres Strait, that she began formal arts studies, initially through Flying Arts, which delivered workshops to regional and remote communities. She subsequently studied visual arts, museum studies and ethnography, completing a PhD exploring historical correspondence, collecting practices and connections to country.

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Her academic interests were deeply personal. James Cook University's Objects of Possession research project documents her mother's collection of 588 Aboriginal cultural objects, acquired by the Aboriginal Arts Board in 1979. Developed through relationships with Jirrbal, Girramay and Gulngay people, the collection represents an important record of the region's cultural heritage.

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Valerie's professional career strengthened those connections. For 11 years she worked with Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre in Cardwell, supporting First Nations artists and bringing their work to national and international audiences.

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Her contribution was recognised with a Museums & Galleries Queensland Achievement Award in 2019. Her research also took her to Norway to investigate nineteenth-century naturalist Carl Lumholtz's collections from the Herbert River region, culminating in an exhibition and publication.

Yet despite these international experiences, Valerie's focus has always returned to Tully.

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"My work, my life has always been about this place," she said.

In 2023, with encouragement from Shane Greenwood, then manager of the Tully Support Centre, Valerie brought together local artists and community members to explore establishing a dedicated arts precinct.

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Around 70 people attended the first public meeting, leading to the establishment of an incorporated organisation. Early supporters included respected Gulngay Traditional Owner and artist Clarence Kinjun, whom Valerie has known since childhood. Since that first meeting, the committee and members have worked tirelessly to build support and demonstrate what's possible.

Two major exhibitions, About Sugar Tully and Tradition, Ritual, Community, each attracted around 40 artists, while three book fairs, children's activities and printmaking workshops have engaged the community and raised funds.

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But without a permanent home, the organisation's ambitions remain constrained.

The proposed centre would offer rotating exhibitions, a gallery shop, workshops, movie nights, oral history projects and heritage displays. Importantly, it would provide dedicated spaces for Gulngay Traditional Owners, including a future Keeping Place Museum for rainforest culture and repatriated cultural material.

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Valerie said people had already offered significant cultural objects and historical memorabilia for safekeeping.

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"They want things to stay locally," she said. "But we can't accept any of the offers at the moment because we don't have anywhere to put them."

The registered charity has developed a comprehensive business plan, three-year arts program and governance framework, supported by arts grants, community donations and fundraising.

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For Valerie, the vision is about much more than an art gallery. It's about celebrating Tully's creativity, preserving its cultural heritage and opening doors for future generations.

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"What drives me is that other people are interested as well," she said.

Having once left Tully to pursue her own artistic ambitions, Valerie hopes the community's shared enthusiasm will help create a place where local talent can flourish, stories can be preserved and the arts can become an enduring part of the town's future.

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With council expected to consider the building's future at its October meeting, Valerie is encouraging residents to voice their support.

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For more information: visit tullyartsandculture.org.au or email tullyprecinct@gmail.com.

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