ANDREI BUTERS

Most artist-run galleries do not receive the blessing of a wide representation of the state’s artistic community in their first event.

But for the founders of Paper Mountain, Perth’s newest art site, getting everyone involved from day one was always part of a long-held dream.

The Conservatorium - which launches tonight – is the first group exhibition hosted at Paper Mountain, located at 267A William Street in Northbridge.

The exhibition features works housed in glass or plastic jars by 80 WA artists.

Paper Mountain was founded by Anna Dunnill, Joanna Sulkowski, Stephen Genovese and Amber Harries after years spent walking past empty inner-city buildings as they studied art at Central TAFE.

After early attempts to open public land as artist studios fell through, the dream resurfaced.

‘I did a studio residency at Central TAFE, and the discussions started again,” said co-curator of The Conservatorium Anna Dunnill.

“It just seemed like the right time.

“We knew all the people and had a better idea about how to go about it.”

Featuring in The Conservatorium will be Twelve Green Bottles by Minaxi May.

More than four years in Perth’s art scene had created an enormous list of contacts, many of whom eagerly contributed to the group exhibition.

One coup was locking in Ionat Zurr and Oron Catts, from the University of Western Australia’s Symbiotica project.

They contributed the bones of their long-dead Pomeranian to the show.

‘Their dog died, they had buried it but when they moved house, they exhumed it,” Dunnill revealed.

“And now it’s in a jar …

“Actually, it is a really intriguing meditation on living and non-living things, and one of the strongest pieces in the show.”

While William Street is known for its high fashion, urban culture and low-brow art scene, Dunnill said Paper Mountain would be open to all.

‘With our studio artists, we have a very wide range in the people that are using it,” she said.

“We’ve got everybody from tattoo artists, to jewellers, to fashion designers and painters and photographers and film.

“With this in mind, we didn’t want to lock ourselves into any kind of theme.”

Dunnill lamented that Perth is full of smaller scenes or cliques that do not communicate well with one another.

“That’s a real shame …,” she said.

“Because there is a lot of potential for cross-pollination and interdisciplinary work.

“That’s often the most exciting work that gets created, I think.

“I’d love it if we could deliver something like that.”

The Conservatorium launches tonight at 6pm and runs until February 5.