Alcoa Mandurah Arts Gallery gets another three years
Alcoa's Pinjarra Alumina Refinery has announced a three-year partnership with the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre.
The $90,000 partnership will help fund the Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery and its exhibition collaborations with local artists, shows and events.
The Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery houses two spaces showcasing both emerging and established artists as well as touring exhibitions.
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Pinjarra Alumina Refinery manager Jodie Giraudo said Alcoa was proud to support local artists to present and promote their creative talents through the gallery which is a vibrant local arts community.
'Alcoa's funding not only offers enriching art experiences for everyone to enjoy, it also provides educational opportunities and community engagement programs for the region,' Ms Giraudo said.
Local landscape and botanical artist Robyn Lowry has her collection of floral artwork on show as part of the gallery's Plein Air Artist of the Month program. Alcoa's Katherine Stevens with Mandurah Performing Arts Centre CEO Marc Missiaen and Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery curator Lotte Waters. Credit: Supplied
Lowry said painting enabled her to respond to the environment she was exploring, creating form, colour and interpreting the landscape in her own way.
Upcoming exhibitions include Proof Positive - Peel Printmakers group exhibition (Main Gallery) and The Gardener, the Midwife and the Sailor - Three painters (Foyer Gallery).
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Perth Now
4 days ago
- Perth Now
Alcoa Mandurah Arts Gallery gets another three years
Alcoa's Pinjarra Alumina Refinery has announced a three-year partnership with the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. The $90,000 partnership will help fund the Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery and its exhibition collaborations with local artists, shows and events. The Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery houses two spaces showcasing both emerging and established artists as well as touring exhibitions. Your local paper, whenever you want it. Pinjarra Alumina Refinery manager Jodie Giraudo said Alcoa was proud to support local artists to present and promote their creative talents through the gallery which is a vibrant local arts community. 'Alcoa's funding not only offers enriching art experiences for everyone to enjoy, it also provides educational opportunities and community engagement programs for the region,' Ms Giraudo said. Local landscape and botanical artist Robyn Lowry has her collection of floral artwork on show as part of the gallery's Plein Air Artist of the Month program. Alcoa's Katherine Stevens with Mandurah Performing Arts Centre CEO Marc Missiaen and Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery curator Lotte Waters. Credit: Supplied Lowry said painting enabled her to respond to the environment she was exploring, creating form, colour and interpreting the landscape in her own way. Upcoming exhibitions include Proof Positive - Peel Printmakers group exhibition (Main Gallery) and The Gardener, the Midwife and the Sailor - Three painters (Foyer Gallery).
West Australian
5 days ago
- West Australian
Public invited to comment on proposed mega mine expansion for first time in forest mining history
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'The sheer volume, the unique biodiversity of the northern jarrah forest, and the number of environmental factors to consider means a 12-week public consultation period is entirely appropriate.' Alcoa Australia president Elsabe Muller said since the proposal was initially delivered in 2020 they have refined their plans based on environmental and social study outcomes, stakeholder feedback and commitment to continuous improvement. However, WA Forest Alliance senior campaigner Jason Fowler said if the expansion was allowed to progress the damage done could likely render the ecosystem 'functionally extinct' in the future. Ms Muller said Alcoa had made several important changes to the initial proposal, including the creation of a mining avoidance zone of about 2600ha around Jarrahdale as well as adjusting plans to to avoid areas of environmental and social value including the Bibbulmun Track. 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Mr Fowler said highlighting the lack of clearing in old growth forest was a hollow statement. 'The current definition of old growth is very flawed — even if there's been only one tree logged in there then it's not considered old growth, even if everything around it is ancient,' he said. Mr Fowler said he also has huge concerns with water security for the region, with Alcoa's expansion coming so close to several critical water supply dams throughout the Darling range. Conservation Council of WA nature program manager Rhiannon Hardwick said Alcoa's Pinjarra and Wagerup operations were the fifth highest greenhouse gas emitter in WA and approval for the expansion would allow a further 2.69 million tonnes of GHGs to be released by 2050, adding more strain to forest already impacted by climate change. 'We know that black cockatoos are facing extinction due to habitat destruction, including through the impacts of bauxite mining in the Northern Jarrah Forest in the Serpentine-Jarrahdale region, and inappropriate housing developments on rapidly diminishing banksia woodlands,' she said. 'Just this year, South32's bauxite mine expansion was approved, including the clearing of 3800ha of the Northern Jarrah Forest. Alcoa's proposal to clear a further 7500ha of forest in Perth's water catchment zone will be environmentally devastating. The Wilderness Society senior campaigner Jenita Enevoldsen said if approved the proposal flies in the face of the Federal Government's pledge to end extinctions. 'It would give Alcoa permission to bulldoze thousands of football fields of threatened species habitat, critical to the survival of species like the red-tailed black cockatoo, numbat and woylie,' she said. 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ABC News
30-05-2025
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Examining Alcoa's proposed bauxite mining expansion in WA's jarrah forests
US aluminium giant Alcoa is proposing to expand its mining operations in the world's only jarrah forests in Western Australia, setting the stage for a battle with environmentalists over the impact on wildlife and water quality. The Pennsylvania-based company has mined in WA for bauxite, used to create aluminium, since the 1960s. Alcoa has made two proposals to expand its mining operations, some of which are near the Serpentine Dam, which is one of Perth's primary water sources. The state's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has opened the assessments to the public for comments and submissions. The WA government has previously approved the company's mining plans despite internal advice stating they posed a high risk to Perth's drinking water and endangered species. Alcoa's director of regulatory approvals, Kane Moyler, said the company was managing any potential risks to both conservation and drinking water supplies. "We've operated for more than 60 years in and around public drinking water reservoirs, and we've not negatively impacted them in any way," he told ABC Radio Perth. The company said it had strict measures in place to contain surface runoff, and water treatment methods implemented to remove PFAS — a chemical which does not naturally break down. Mr Moyler said the areas closest to the dams would not form part of any future proposals after the state government implemented a two-kilometre "reservoir protection zone". "They are the areas in closest proximity to public drinking water dams, and they will not form part of our proposal going forward," Mr Moyler said. He said the company had ceased all current mining operations within one kilometre of the dam, but was still operating within the one-to-two kilometre zone. "There are active operations that are occurring and will need to continue to occur before we transition to those new mine regions," he said. Alcoa has proposed to expand three mining regions — Myara North, Holyoake and O'Neil — and increase its alumina production at the Pinjarra refinery until 2045. Alongside this proposal is a separate plan to expand its Huntly and Willowdale mines until 2027. Both proposals are open to public comment, after which the EPA will decide whether or not to formally assess them. It is the Huntly and Willowdale mine proposals which the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation deemed would pose a "high level of risk to public drinking water sources and native flora and fauna". Internal advice produced by the department in 2023, seen by the ABC, stated it was "likely" the Serpentine Reservoir would be contaminated by "future drainage failures". The state-owned Water Corporation — responsible for managing Perth's water supply — said in the event of the Serpentine Dam being contaminated, more than 100,000 people could consume contaminated water after six hours. 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"It is one of the great success stories of our mining industry where we are fully integrated and creating a very important metal, not only for the future of decarbonisation, it plays a critical role in many things like solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars. "I think we have a lot of confidence in terms of the product that we're producing."
