Work will get underway in coming weeks on a new photography studio and gallery, which will eventually house the Border’s first dark room for public use.
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Dirk Wallace secured a 10-year lease with Albury Council to revamp the Turks Head Building on Wodonga Place in mid-2018, following an expression of interest.
Mr Wallace now has the keys to the 179-year-old building and once paperwork is finalised – and the temperature hopefully drops – he plans to start shaping his vision.
“We’ve got to clean it out and redo the inside – it’s been vacant for 12 years,” he said.
“The project is all photography-related and we’ll have a gallery going in there, an educational centre, and a dark room.
“I set up a dark room at MAMA, where I’ve been teaching for the last three years, and there are many private rooms but none for the public.”
Mr Wallace said he had received great support from fellow business-people and from the Albury-Wodonga photography group that he helps co-ordinate.
“It will be open to hire and we will be setting up a membership where people join for a yearly fee,” he said.
“There’s a whole lot of people interested in film photography, and I want to make it affordable for people to come and use.”
The former Union Bridge Hotel building has previously been a museum and was advertised for potential new uses, with a tavern also being put forward as an idea.
Mr Wallace said it was heartening to see projects like the upgrading of the pump station for a creative space surfacing.
“I’ve been looking for three years for a building for my project and people really wanted something good to go in the Turks building,” he said.
“I’ve had so much support, not just from photographers and businesses, but from MAMA and Murray Arts.
“I’m interested in hearing from anyone who might want to help or be a part of it.”
