Firstdraft Gallery

irst Draft was incorporated in 1985 as a non-profit, artist managed organisation and established in 1986 with seed funding from the Australia Council. Every two years a new group of directors is selected to administer First Draft. It is expected that the directors are themselves practising artists. The turnover of directors provides the opportunity for a reformation of the way the gallery functions and provides the possibility for new approaches to the style of artwork it shows. This gallery, in its third relocation since its inception, is now located in premises in Surry Hills, Sydney. The longevity of First Draft is probably due to a range of factors. Certainly, funding from Arts NSW and the Australia Council is one of the most important. This funding has been invaluable in that is has allowed for the reduction of some of the rent expected from the artists who exhibit there. This is particularly significant in terms of equity for access to exhibition, given the cost of rent in inner Sydney compared to the rest of Australia.