A 63-year-old North Lismore artist has been evicted from the Lake Street gallery he called home, and the building could be torn down as soon as today, Monday, 2 November.
Jimmy Willing had lived at the Joy Love Gallery at 82 Lake Street for almost two years. His daughter, Sally Willing, says he is now living in a tent and has lost the studio where he earns his living.
“The [Reconstruction Authority’s] idea of a coup de grâce on their destruction of our town is to have 6 armed police throw a 63 year old grandfather who paints birds and plants flowers out of his home and workspace,” said Sally Willing.
“The backwards logic of the dystopian, authoritarian bureaucracy that has become the RA says that my dad is safer from floods living in a tent.”
Ms Willing said the NSW Reconstruction Authority had her father evicted from the home.
“Under the Minns government, the RA have repeatedly harmed the very community they were appointed to strengthen and repair after the 2022 floods,” she said.
The owners of 82 Lake Street had accepted a flood buyback of the property.
When Mr Willing’s own studio next door was destroyed in the 2022 flood, those owners gave him permission to move into the house.
That family had been the Willings’ neighbours for decades, and were happy to have him mowing the lawns and planting gardens at the home they had loved.
Lake Street is where Ms Willing and her sister were largely raised.
“Not only is my dad now homeless, he has also lost his studio where he makes his living,” Ms Willing said.
“My dad earns his income entirely from his art. I have spent the last 9 hours packing my dad’s livelihood up into boxes.”
Mr Willing turned the house into a gallery named after Joy Mary Grace Love (née Pheeney), born on 25 February 1931, who lived on Lake Street for virtually her entire life and helped build the homes at 84 and 86 Lake Street.
Its Strictly for the Birds exhibition in September 2025 drew more than 500 people and showcased more than 100 local artists.
Ms Willing said her father had organised art and entertainment for decades at Lismore events including the Lismore Show and the Lantern Parade.
Now the family and supporters are fighting to save the building itself.
On Friday, 30 October, contractors were at the site and black plastic was wrapped around the buyback fencing.
In a letter to Minister Janelle Saffin, the Reconstruction Authority, and Lismore City Council, the Willing sisters, their extended family, and the wider community demanded an immediate stop to demolition.
“Once dismantling of the building has begun, retaining Joy Love Gallery in situ will be permanently impossible,” they wrote.
“No subsequent consultation, planning exercise or reconstruction proposal can preserve the original building after its destruction.”
The letter asks for a site-specific review of keeping the building for non-residential cultural use, and an urgent meeting with decision-makers.
It notes the Reconstruction Authority and council have been inviting ideas for future cultural and community uses of flood buyback land, with consultation closing on Sunday, 1 November.
“Demolishing an existing gallery while inviting proposals for future cultural use raises a serious question about whether retention of this particular building has been properly considered,” they wrote.
“We recognise that flood safety is a legitimate and essential consideration. We are not seeking to disregard it.”
The letter says previous owner Rodney Love wishes to gift the building to Mr Willing, who is willing to accept it. No transfer has been formalised.
It also points to the paused demolition of 1 Frank Street, South Lismore, and Minister Saffin’s intervention over Lismore’s historic Drill Hall, as examples of demolition decisions being put on hold while alternatives are examined.
A petition started by Ms Willing has gathered more than 1,260 signatures in just a few days, calling for the gallery to be saved and for her father to remain at the property.
She has asked supporters to drop off a meal, or help with mowing, slashing, or gardening at the abandoned paddock where he is staying.
“It is a sad day indeed when our government try to force a grandfather out of the neighbourhood where he raised his children, fence off the gardens he so carefully tended to grow food for himself and his daughters, strip away his livelihood and leave him to live in a tent,” Ms Willing said.
The petition is at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-joy-love-gallery-let-jimmy-stay
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