It was with upmost passion that Sue eloquently and movingly talked about the drive to’ Save Our Gallery’ - Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki.
In late 2011 the Gallery was reopened after a major upgrade and is open every day except Christmas Day. The Gallery has been particularly honoured by Philanthropists Julian and Jose Robinson who have bequeathed $15m in their will and also with the long term loan of Claude Monet paintings from a family in Auckland.
The Gallery has over the years faced enormous funding cuts - in 2012 the operating budget was $12m per annum and in the space of 6 years reduced to $6.9m in 2018. ‘Save our Gallery’ was galvanized by a group of independent artists and enthusiasts in late 2017 to orchestrate a campaign launched in response to Auckland Art Gallery’s funding crisis – sparked change.
To understand the background to the funding cuts back in 2011 Auckland transitioned into a Super City and with this new structure the Gallery came under the Regional Facilities. Sure the Gallery is a facility similar to sports stadium and events centres but the Art Gallery was different as it looks after an array of arts and provides educational programmes. In 2012 the Council took away the ability to host events or lease space based on their revenue generating model so the Gallery has been unable to retain their income of approximately $500k per year. The campaign ‘Save our Gallery Part of Me’ was kick-started the end of January this year where an orchestrated plan to “bomb the place” through social media, public meetings and visiting schools all over Auckland. However, in February there was a major announcement from Phil Goff pledging support of $2m over the next 10 years (totalling $20m). He is only 1 of 21 Councillors and remains still a proposal until 1 June 2018. Because of this the Gallery had to change its message and so in mid-February a supporters’ scroll was made and went on tour – schools, university orientation weeks, major offices to name a few places to clearly articulate the message that people want art to be a part of our lives; that is, to be integrated and be able to participate and bring disruptive (unsettling) thinking.
Sue said the sports model is reinforced on a daily basis and there are definite likes with art such as intuition and creativity. To this end the unfamiliar has not become familiar (arts). Sue had such an incredible way in how she conveyed her message -“Support Auckland Art Gallery as a gym for the mind”.
I close with the words of Landingin a urban design student “there is still more to be done but ‘Save Our Gallery’ has shown the great possibilities that can be achieved with passionate individuals coming together making noise. Whether it’s for art, culture, or something else, we have the power to protect the things that we care about.”
