Historic art to stay

The fate of a treasure trove of indigenous art stored in North Eveleigh is looking bright following negotiations between its owners and the Redfern-Waterloo Authority.

The owners, artists Gordon and Elaine Syron, claimed they were facing possible eviction by the RWA, which owns the site where the collection is stored. The Syrons said the RWA had helped the couple assemble the collection in an RWA warehouse at North Eveleigh.

The RWA had been paying the couple since October 2007 to catalogue the works so they could be offered to prospective buyers interested in keeping the collection intact. It was hoped a home in the local area could be found for the collection of over 1000 works, where they could be displayed to the public. However the Syrons were unable to finish the catalogue by the agreed deadline because they could not cope with the technical aspects of cataloguing the work. They [RWA] are now going to let us stay until we have finished the catalogue, said Mr Syron. Hopefully we will have it finished soon.

RWA CEO Robert Domm said the RWA was still supportive of the cataloguing project and finding a suitable home for the collection.

The site where the Syrons have been working is due to be sold as part of the redevelopment of the North Eveleigh rail yards. There was never any suggestion they would be evicted from the temporary premises, Mr Domm said.

Rather we always made clear that it was temporary and they would eventually need to vacate, we have now advised they will have to relocate by February next year.

Mr Syron said community group REDWatch had organised volunteers from non-profit organisation UNILINK, who specialise in building library networks and catalogues, to assist with the cataloguing process

The Syrons said they still hoped to find a home for the collection somewhere in Redfern, such as an indigenous cultural centre.

Mr Domm said he was committed to offering assistance to the Syrons so the collection could be kept intact.

Photo: Gordon Syron with his historic collection of indigenous artworks. Photo: Phil Rogers

Source Central 27 August 2008