The gallery, a department of the Waitaki District Council community services division, was opened on May 6, 1983, and gallery director Warwick Smith put its success down to the ongoing support of the local community.
''The longevity of the gallery's success in our community is primarily due to the community itself. The Forrester Gallery has grown from strength to strength due to the ongoing support of the Friends of the Forrester, the gallery volunteers, our artists, our visiting school groups, our dedicated staff, council and of course the countless visitors who have enjoyed our art and our spaces over the past three decades,'' he said at a cake-cutting ceremony on Monday attended by about 50 people.
The gallery had built up a collection of ''regionally and nationally significant'' works over the past 30 years, and was now nationally recognised for its contribution to the culture and heritage of New Zealand, he said.
For a small-town gallery, it ''punched well above its weight'' not only in terms of the quality of its collection but also its historical breadth, he said.
Gallery exhibitions curator Alice Lake-Hammond said drop-in tours this week gave the public a chance to ''peek behind the scenes'' and view the gallery's collection stores, which were now ''bursting at the seams''.
''To celebrate the gallery's 30th birthday we want to share as much as possible with the community, who have supported the Forrester since its inception,'' she said.
