Library exhibition showcases the results of a lifelong passion

Gora Singh Mann can be called many things, but what is he is best known for is his need to share. 

This need to share has given the Mudgee community a chance to look upon the works of some very well known Australian artists thanks to a series of exhibitions at the Mudgee Library over the past two years.

The current exhibition features works from artists from The Hermannsburg School of Aboriginal Artists in Central Australia, including Albert Namatjira, while previous exhibitions have focused on David Hill and dot paintings from leading Aboriginal artists.

Mr Mann was born in Borneo and emigrated to Australia with his siblings in the mid-1950s. 

After completing an Arts Degree at Sydney University, Mr Mann studied at Teacher’s College and worked his way up through the ranks until he was appointed as a relieving State High School Principal. 

It was during this time, travelling around the state to teach at different schools, that Mr Mann first began studying Australian history, with a focus on Aboriginal art.

It was also when he began to focus on the notion of sharing what he had learnt – and what he had in his possession - with the rest of society.

“In teaching you become aware of the need to share. 

“Because through teaching you become keen to impart your knowledge to others, and that’s the philosophy behind what I do with my art,” he said.

Mr Mann, and his business partner William Tatlow, have donated a collection of Asian art to the Wollongong City Gallery and in 2001 the Gora Singh Mann Collection of Australian pottery was snapped up by buyers from across Australia after Mr Mann decided he couldn’t keep the collection to himself. 

“It’s of no real use for me to hide anything away, everyone deserves to see these works if they can,” Mr Mann said. 

Over the past 40 years, Mr Mann has added Asian art and pottery, sculpture, ceramics, Aboriginal art, furniture, and Chinese artifacts to his ever growing collection and currently has many of the pieces not residing in galleries hanging on his own walls at his home just outside of Mudgee. 

The biggest part of his collection consists of works by Aboriginal artists from Broken Hill, to Utopia in the Northern Territory including Eddy Harris, Michael Nelson Jagamara, Miniie Pwerle, Paddy carroll Tjungerai and Albert Namatjira. 

His knowledge on each of the artists has continued to grow, and Mr Mann is able to speak about each of the paintings in a way that tells a story not just about the artwork, but the person who created it.

Mr Mann said it wasn’t just enough for him to have a little bit of knowledge about a certain artist, artwork, or art style – he wanted to know as much as he could about the history of the work, to the cultural influences on a particular style, and everything in between. 

While he has generously lent parts of his immense collection to Mid-Western Regional Council for the library exhibitions, Mr Mann said he did not do so just to share his collection with others, but as a way of showcasing the kind of standards that could be easily managed in an exhibition space like an art gallery.

“I am very happy to donate parts of my collection to such a space  in the future and would encourage the local community to help such an idea become a reality,” he said.  

Mr Mann will donate one of the paintings from the Hermannsburg School of Aboriginal Art exhibition to the Mudgee Library at the end of the exhibition. 

Voting forms are available at the front desk of Mudgee Library and visitors will be able to vote until the end of July.