STURT UPDATE

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Sturt Gallery & Studios

Dear Ray, Thank you for your patience and support during the establishment of Sturt Gallery and Studios Limited (Sturt). We are delighted to announce the inaugural Sturt Board, selected for their breadth of experience across the arts and crafts, a deep knowledge of Sturt, connection to the local and international community, business expertise, fundraising capability and sound governance practice.  The Inaugural Sturt Gallery and Studios Board The Sturt Gallery and Studios Board comprises eight positions, five of which have now been appointed. Directors serve for a three (3) year term. Further appointments may be made in due course to complement the current directors and ensure the full diversity of skills and perspectives required for Sturt’s next chapter. We are pleased to confirm the following appointments:  Tom Brigstocke is CEO of Principals, Australia’s leading brand strategy and design company, working with clients from top-20 ASX companies through to small enterprises across many sectors, including government and tertiary education. Tom has extensive governance experience, having served on a range of boards, including as a Governor of Winifred West Schools. Howard Tanner AM LFRAIA has enjoyed a diverse career as an architect, an author and an exhibition curator. He has written extensively on architecture and landscape design and prepared major exhibitions. He has held the position of National President, Australian Institute of Architects, Chair of the Heritage Council of NSW, and was appointed Professorial Fellow in Architecture, University of Canberra. Howard brings to the Sturt board extensive experience in governance and promotion of public cultural institutions, including the NSW Historic Houses Trust, the National Art School, and the State Library of NSW.  Mary Taguchi (Fellowship, 1961) has a long-standing association with Sturt’s history and creative philosophy, as a teacher, textile artist and scholar. Following her tenure at a bi-lingual school in Tokyo, where she forged deep connections with ceramicists and textile artists, she established Japanese language programs at Frensham and Gib Gate, fostering cross-cultural exchanges. Mary is a published author on arts-based language learning, and is an exhibiting textile artist with works shown across Australia. Formerly a Sturt tutor, she currently shares her expertise in paper and cloth workshops at her Braidwood studio. Michael Harris brings to the board a unique blend of craftsmanship and corporate expertise, combining his Sturt training with over two decades of high-level financial management experience in multinational advertising and communication firms in the UK and Asia. A highly regarded graduate of the Sturt School for Wood, Michael was appointed Wood School Coordinator immediately following his studies. He has been a dedicated member of the Sturt community, including many years of service as a member of the Friends of Sturt committee. Madeline Baker is a distinguished legal professional, solicitor of the NSW Supreme Court, and judicial member of the Civil and Administrative Tribunals in NSW and QLD. Her career also spans significant advisory and teaching roles in government and academia, including senior policy adviser to state ministers, consultant to state and federal government, and as Lecturer in the Law faculty at Southern Cross University. Founding Membership Last year we were overwhelmed by the number of people who applied to become members of the new Sturt. The strength of the response reinforced the significance of Sturt to the Australian arts community. To ensure the success of the new entity, the constitutional membership structure has been refined. As a result, a core group, known as the Founding Members, has been established. These individuals are deeply connected to Sturt and will act as custodians of its future, providing stewardship and, where needed, guidance and support to the Board.  There can be a total of 20 Founding Members, and each member is able to hold this constitutional role for a term of five years.  We are pleased to announce the first ten Founding Members. Annabel Beith Tony Carroll Elinor Crossing Geoff Daniels Gina Fairley Helen Gauchat Elisabeth Nagel Megan Patey Ingrid Wanner  Annabel White Friends of Sturt We acknowledge and greatly value the time and dedication shown by Friends of Sturt over many years. The Sturt Gallery and Studios Constitution now allows the Board to establish Friends of Sturt as a formal supporter community. The precise form, benefits and opportunities for participation within the Friends of Sturt program will be determined by the Board over time as the organisation develops. With the appointment of the inaugural Board, the interim Sturt Board has now stepped down. We thank the directors for their service during this important transitional period. It is a privilege to serve the Sturt community, and a responsibility we take very seriously. We ask for your patience as we take the time to understand Sturt and identify priorities and opportunities, and we look forward to connecting with you over the coming months. Kind regards, Sturt Gallery and Studios Board

MISSIVE FROM WWS GOVERNORS

 

Sturt Gallery & Studios
Dear ……,
Please see below a message from Clementine Allan, Chair of the Board of Governors of Winifred West Schools Limited
 
Dear Sturt Community,
Thank you for the overwhelming interest and goodwill shown in response to the establishment of Sturt Gallery and Studios Limited. The level of engagement has been remarkable, and your continued support is both heartwarming and highly appreciated. 
As part of progressing Sturt’s establishment as an independent entity, the Company Members of Winifred West Schools Limited met last week for an Extraordinary General Meeting in order to endorse the resolutions required to support Sturt’s independence. 
We are now in the final phase of completing the legal, commercial and governance steps required to complete Sturt’s transition. This is a careful and detailed process, and the Sturt interim Board, together with expert advisers, are focused on finalising the governance arrangements for the inaugural Sturt Board and the new operating framework.
Accordingly, there will not be a meeting of the new Sturt entity on 7 February while this work is completed. 
A further announcement will be provided as soon as possible, including an overview of the governance and leadership framework that will guide the next phase of Sturt’s development.
Thank you once again for your patience and support as Sturt enters this next chapter. 
Kind regards,
Clementine Allan 
Chair
Board of Governors
Winifred West Schools Limited ... Friday, 30 January 2026 5:15 PM

The geographic coordinates for Sturt Gallery & Studios in Mittagong, New South Wales, are Sturt Gallery & Studios in Mittagong, NSW, is located at the corner of Range Road and Waverley Parade (2575), with coordinates approximately -34.46° latitude and 150.45° longitude. It is a premier Australian center for contemporary craft, design, and woodwork.

Key Details for Sturt,

1. Mittagong: Address: Cnr Range Road & Waverley Parade, Mittagong NSW 2575.
2. Focus: Contemporary craft, galleries, and school for wood.

MMMMMmmm GOOGLE often offers layers of meaning…STORYtree a metaphor . Even if the tree is no longer alive it has coordinates thanks to a COMMUNITY OF OWNERSHIP & INTEREST.

https://www.instagram.com/sturtgalleryandstudios/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSMKpHanKj3/?

hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BvdK92XA163/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl69N0fgliL/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl69N0fgliL/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUkEhTaFBGL/?hl=en&img_index=1

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUL928aD0SS/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTEkRw0nCRY/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSMKpHanKj3/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs65xoLAG9p/?hl=en&img_index=1

 

DYSTOPIAN PLACEDNESS

"Our problem right now is that we're so specialised that if the lights go out, there are a huge number of people who are not going to know what to do. But within every dystopia there's a little utopia". ... Margaret Atwood 

It was HIGHsummer in 1970 and Winifred West was encountered in the STURTgarden in the early morning, and she was watering a mature camellia tree that she had planted near STURTcottage in STURT's early days.

She had decided that this tree needed to removed to another place. Later on was for her never the time to do things. If one is going to do it do it, do it, but in this case later might well have been better.

When she was asked if she thought that the tree would survive she replied in her Inimitable way ... Humans cannot perform miracles but we can create the circumstances in which they can happen ... and one did. So far as anyone knows that camellia that tree still lives. If the circumstance have been created, a sensibility that it was a part of, its placedness and its shared sense of being in the world, somewhat miraculously and metaphorically all that might survive too.

In our searches for wisdom we might well find that dystopia's beauty might well be that it lets us vicariously experience future worlds albeit that we might yet have the power and inclination to change ... here ... and right now.

AND there is this to ponder ... The geographic coordinates for Sturt Gallery & Studios in Mittagong, New South Wales, Sturt Gallery & Studios in Mittagong, NSW, is located at the corner of Range Road and Waverley Parade (2575), with coordinates approximately -34.46° latitude and 150.45° longitude. It is a premier Australian center for contemporary craft, design, and woodwork. 

Key Details for Sturt, Mittagong: 

• Address: Cnr Range Road & Waverley Parade, Mittagong NSW 2575.
• Coordinates: Approximately
  

  ${34.46}^{\circ }S,{150.45}^{\circ }E$
  (listed as
  

  $-34.46$
  North,
  

  $150.45$
  West in some reports, likely indicating
  

  ${34}^{\circ }{27}^{\prime }{36}^{\prime \prime }S$
  

  ${150}^{\circ }{27}^{\prime }{00}^{\prime \prime }E$
  ).
• Focus: Contemporary craft, galleries, and school for wood. 

LINK

LETTER TO STURT

To whom it may concern,

Thank you for this response it is appreciated. However, the question still hanging is:

Does/Will STURT actually exist as an independent, self-funded, standalone operation where its membership can determine the operation's 'PURPOSE, OBJECTIVES, RATIONALES AND STRATEGIC PRIORITIES' OR do those things require the endorsement OR approval of WWS as STURT's landlord and/or underwriter of an operation located on the Cnr Waverly Pd & Range Rd Mittagong or indeed anywhere else?

Yours sincerely,

Ray Norman 

Sturt Alumni,

Dear Ray,

Thank you for your email.

Membership application forms can be found here - 
https://sturtgalleryandstudios.com.au/sturt-membership#sturt-membership

At present, we are in the initial establishment phase of the company. 
Once appointed, the new Board will begin its own formation period, 
during which it will take responsibility for setting the strategic and 
financial direction of Sturt Gallery and Studios and making key 
operational decisions.

While it is an exciting moment for Sturt, this work will take time, and 
the founding Board will need to determine the business and fundraising 
model and set priorities accordingly.

I encourage you to stay connected through our website to receive updates 
as Sturt progresses.

Kind regards,
Sturt Gallery and Studios

sturtgalleryandstudios.com.au
Cnr Range Road & Waverly Parade
Mittagong NSW 2575

ABN: 77 692 376 426

On 2025-12-15 00:48, Ray Norman wrote:
To whoever it may concern,

Having expressed an interest in being a STURTmember and having not
received any acknowledgement of that or my response to the
constitution and it being just10 days away from Christmas I’m
wondering if I’m not being considered for membership.

Given the onset of the holiday season, I’m also wondering if WWS is
taking any action to encourage people, those who I think of as
STURT’S Community of Ownership and Interest [1] becoming members
given that they have diverse backgrounds relative to STURT and are
located in diverse locations, and with myself being in Tasmania.

There is much about this apparent initiative to re-invent STURT as an

independent operation that raises questions to do with STURT’S 

ongoing viability and indeed its independence relative to its
histories and not to mention its purpose for being that in the
CONSTITUTION offered by WWS that is ambiguous.

I’m assuming that the CONSTITUTION offered by WWS is not up for
discussion and perhaps not even by WWS Company members and certainly,
it seems, not by intending members of STURT GALLERY & STUDIOS Ltd but
I could be misguided in reaching this understanding.

I’ would appreciate anything that will go some way towards
clarifying the issues to do with STURT’S:

* Intended Purpose For Being; and
* Ongoing independence; and
* The ‘operation’s’ intended financial independence short term,

 medium term and long term; and
*  Geographic location short term, medium term and long term; with
*. A proposed timeline for STURT becoming a standalone operation either
as a satellite WWS operation OR as a self-governing operation.

An acknowledgement of my request by COB Mon Dec 15 would be
appreciated.

Yours sincerely,
Ray Norman
Sturt Alumni, Polemicist, __Cultural Producer,  _
Cultural Geographer,_ _Researcher_

LETTER TO STURT

 

For whatever reason Niccolò Machiavelli springs to mind and especially him quoted as saying .... “Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.”

Watch this space!! Since the Sturt operation was "paused" the evidence seems to consistently point to asset stripping and for whatever purpose. The dystopia is palpable and........

STURT GALLERY & STUDIOS LIMITED ANNOUNCED ... Company Limited by Guarantee

 

LINK ... https://sturtgalleryandstudios.com.au/