Voting YES for the Albury Art Gallery
Redevelopment: The Albury Regional Art Gallery
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In December we travelled through New South Wales and Victoria creating images for our Christmas Street Nocturne series. We were able to drop in and see the current shows at the Albury Art Gallery including the annual TAFE Riverina Art and Design Graduate student show.
While at the gallery we became aware of plans for the redevelopment of the gallery and the significant lobby action that was being mounted by the members of the community interested in the arts. It seemed to us that support for the proposal was not gaining the necessary support and commitment from the Albury City Council. In its turn it seems that the Council’s request for financial support from the State Government was not yielding sympathetic results. It many ways it’s a similar story around regional Australia–culture is placed a long way down the priorities list.
The lobby group was loud and active with meetings and events being reported in local newspapers and television. Audray Banfield, former Director of the gallery proposed in an interview with Prime 7 News on February 9, 2013 that sport and art need equal support in Albury.
Visitors to the gallery were provided with an opportunity to sign a petition and get a ‘YES” badge to support the cause. We did both and proudly wore the ‘YES’ badge for the rest of the week as we travelled through the Riverina.
Recently we became aware of a successful outcome for the redevelopment posted on Albury Art Gallery’s Exhibition Coordinator, Jules Boag’s Linkedin activity page. He states that:
Albury City Council will proceed with the Albury Regional Art Gallery redevelopment project after Council endorsed a plan to contribute $2.5M in additional funds for the project, with a further $1.05M (10% of the total cost) to be raised from private and philanthropic support. The decision brings Council’s total contribution to the project to $6M. With the Federal Government committing $3.5M and a further $1.05M to come from non-government sources, the project has been given the green light to get underway at a total cost of $10.5M.
Other reports can be found HERE
GREAT NEWS!! And we are looking forward to witnessing the redevelopment progress over future years.
Image of the Albury Art Gallery from the NOCTURNE imaging project
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Centre for Regional Arts Practice 