The Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) has surpassed its $100 million Capital Campaign target to support construction of a new sustainable extension designed by SANAA.
Together with the NSW Government’s $244 million in funding, the $103.5 million raised from donors represents the largest public-private partnership of its kind to be successfully achieved in the Australian arts. The Gallery will continue to seek philanthropic support for its transformation including enhancements and modifications to the existing building, as well as launching an art acquisitions campaign next year.
“The Gallery set an ambitious target for an ambitious project with art at its heart,” says AGNSW director Dr. Michael Brand.
“The response to the campaign from donors has been so positive that we have surpassed our $100 million goal. This is an extraordinary public endorsement of our vision, and we are incredibly grateful to all our donors for partnering with the Gallery and the NSW Government to help bring this expansion and transformation to life.
“In NSW we are so fortunate to have passionate people in our community who not only have a genuine love for the arts but are also extraordinarily generous,” adds NSW minister for the arts, Don Harwin.
Highlights of the expanded Gallery will include a prominent destination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art; a large gallery for major exhibitions; a spectacular contemporary art space repurposed from a decommissioned WWII oil tank, and spaces for educational programming to double student and teacher visits to 200,000 annually.
Visitors to the Gallery, Domain and adjacent Royal Botanic Garden will enjoy a public art garden connecting the new stand-alone building and the much-loved historic building. The building’s design maximises and enhances open space as well as public amenity across the site and is the first art museum in the nation to achieve the highest environmental standard with a 6-star Green Star design rating.
