Sarjeant Gallery on the move
Published on 07 March 2014
7 March 2014
The Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui closed its doors on Sunday, March 2, and the staff and nationally significant collection are to be relocated to temporary downtown premises at 38 Taupo Quay.
The Wanganui District Council has made the decision due to the risks to staff and the public from an extremely low compliance with earthquake standards.
“The Sarjeant Gallery is one of New Zealand’s foremost art museums, as well as one of our community’s most stunning and loved buildings,” Mayor Annette Main said.
“While closing the gallery is the correct response to the risks from earthquakes, we also recognise the need to ensure the collection remains accessible.
“The Sarjeant Gallery was founded 100 years ago through the generosity of local farmer Henry Sarjeant, who left the equivalent of $75 million in his will to found a gallery ‘for the inspiration of ourselves and those who come after us’.
“The national importance of the Sarjeant and its collection is indicated by the strong encouragement the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon. Chris Finlayson, has given to the plans to redevelop the Gallery, protecting the building, looking after the collection and enhancing access. This is why the Minister has provisionally set aside $10 million to support the project.
“The move to an interim location is a first step in a $28M redevelopment and earthquake strengthening project.
“Once the relocation of the public part of the Gallery is complete, the process of carefully moving the collection of more than 5500 art works will take place. Henry and Ellen Sarjeant started collecting for the Gallery as early as 1901, with the Queens Park building being built between 1917 and 1919.
“It is a major task moving a collection of this scale and importance, and doing it in a way that meets the highest standards of care. Even with the assistance of four temporary staff paid for by the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board, it will take more than 18 months. “At that point the collection will be in a safe building in a controlled environment, instead of the basement of the Gallery, and the Sarjeant will be ready for the strengthening work that will protect it far into the future.
“Our focus now is to complete the relocation while at the same time continuing our fundraising for the redevelopment project. We know that there is huge recognition of the value of the Sarjeant and our collection nationally and our community is grateful for the early indications that there is national support for a fundraising campaign. As a council we have recognised that a nationally significant project of this size can only be affordable for our community with this support from outside our district.”
The interim premises, Sarjeant on the Quay, will open to the public on 24 May 2014.