The delightful courtyard that adjoins the Frances Keevil Gallery will be bulldozed, together with the Gallery, to construct yet another block of units.
To ‘celebrate’ the impending demolition, Frances Keevil held a last hurrah Christmas Party as a form of wake and to thank artists, patrons and any of the Double Bay community who happened to drop in.
For those that came there was variations .of the cheese, crackers and wine variety, whilst being ‘serenaded’ by a Zydeco band called ‘Squeezebox Boogaloo”. Their jaunty melodies seemed at odds with the air of melancholy that lay in the background.
I asked Frances Keevil what her plans were and she said initially she was going to go on a long holiday. Thereafter she had no plans.
Like many businesses the Gallery will close down over the Christmas break and reopen in February, perhaps to have a ‘fire sale’ when her tenancy officially expires.
Frances Keevil has occupied the area for eleven years and the Gallery’s imminent closure will leave a large vacuum in Double Bay;’s cultural life.
For the time being, the Frances Keevil Gallery will maintain an online presence and any enquiries will be responded to in a prompt manner.
Featured image : Frances Keevil and her team. All images by Ben Apfelbaum
