Golden Mile Art vacates much-loved ‘art house’ because of ongoing vandalism and safety concerns

Ongoing vandalism and safety concerns has forced a local art group out of their much-loved Boulder home. Golden Mile Art occupied “The Art House” on Wittenoom Street, Boulder, for 12 years to provide a space for exhibitions, workshops and a meeting point for the group’s 100-strong member base. Chair Linda Rae Belton said the group made the difficult decision to vacate the building this month as it had fallen into disrepair and was no longer safe to occupy. “It has been a great, quirky little cottage which has been a great fit for a quirky bunch of artists,” she said. “Unfortunately, like a lot of Goldfields cottages, it has had wear and tear . . . and deterioration has been more rapid in the previous few years.” Golden Mile Art had a peppercorn lease with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder for the building which neighbours Digger Daws Oval. With new foundation stumps, perimeter fencing and air-conditioning just some of the required repairs, Ms Belton said the repair bill totalled at least $100,000. Without secure fencing, she said the cottage had been the target of “nuisance vandalism” almost every month. “The location has been an escalating target for vandalism and the social issues in the area have been getting progressively worse over the past few years,” Ms Belton said. “It wasn’t a safe space to be there by yourself . . . or to have a small group of elderly people meeting there, even during the middle of the day, it just wasn’t safe.” Golden Mile Art will move its art supplies and equipment into storage while the committee decided on the group’s future. Ms Belton said the group would consider finding a new home, hosting pop-up events, or joining forces with other organisations within the community to support the local arts scene. “Within the next six months, we will be deciding how we choose to proceed,” she said. “Whether we still want our own hub, whether we want to collaborate with somebody, or whether we want to operate as (a group) who pops up in the community and hosts events in different spaces as they become available.” Last year, Golden Mile Art hosted a pilot gallery and shop in Kalgoorlie’s CBD, however Ms Belton said it was not financially viable for the group to host its own space in town. “We had people coming in to see us that were tourists and locals alike,” she said. “We sold lots of artwork for our artists and we had awesome reach but unfortunately the black and white (cash flow) numbers . . . just wasn’t there. “Those who work in livability of communities and mental health (sectors) know how important the arts scene is. “Unfortunately, the payoff for an active local art scene doesn’t always show in our budget, it shows in the wider community and the livability of the town.”