Regional Creatives Take Centre Stage at New Gallery Launch in Moree
The Social SEEN Gallery opens with Jim A. Barker’s powerful portrait series, “Artisans of the New England”
On Friday 21 June, the newly established Social SEEN Gallery celebrated its official launch with Artisans of the New England, a large-scale photographic exhibition by local photographer Jim A. Barker. The show marks the first exhibition in the space—an exciting collaboration between Social Co House and Jule Jarner Studio, created to promote regional creative talent and connect community through the arts.
The exhibition, proudly supported by Arts North West as part of its Arts North West Connect event series, brings together portraits of 75 makers from across the New England region of NSW. Over the course of 18 months, Barker travelled thousands of kilometres, documenting the people behind the region’s diverse creative practices—fueled, as he puts it, by “38 cups of tea, 24 coffees, and more cold drinks than I could count.”
The result is a stunning, honest body of work that shines a light on a region too often overlooked in national creative conversations.
“It’s strange to me that a region so rich in creativity and creators like the New England is just unknown as such to outsiders,” Barker says. “Byron is known for alternative culture, the Hunter for wine, and Broken Hill for mining. Why can’t the New England—home to some of Australia’s best painters, sculptors, and potters—be known for its creatives?”
One of the featured artisans is Colleen Moloney of Col Art Glass, who also facilitates regular lead lighting classes at the Jule Jarner Studio. Born and raised in Moree, Moloney’s journey began in the early 1980s at the Willoughby Arts Centre in Sydney. She returned to Moree in 1988 to establish her practice and has since spent more than four decades creating intricate stained-glass artworks and mentoring others in the craft.
Her own pieces—and works from her students—were also showcased during the launch in the adjoining Jule Jarner Studio space, offering a vibrant example of intergenerational creative exchange happening right in the heart of Moree.
Gallery co-founder and artist Jule Jarner said the decision to open with Barker’s work was a deliberate one.
“This exhibition speaks to everything the gallery is about—celebrating local stories, making space for creatives from across the region, and encouraging our community to see itself as a vital part of the broader arts landscape,” said Jarner. “Jim’s work captures not just faces, but the depth, skill and spirit of the region’s makers. We’re thrilled to have opened with this.”
The exhibition will remain on display at The Social SEEN Gallery in Moree over the coming weeks, with future programming to be announced soon.