Addition to art gallery

Press, 26 February 1987, Page 12

Addition to art gallery

The suggestion of the director of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Mr John Coley, that the gallery should take over some space in the Christchurch Arts Centre is a splendid one and should receive the support of the Christchurch City Council. The gallery has the same space now as it had 55 years ago when it opened; the demand on it has grown to bursting point. When the gallery was established it housed 210 works. It now has 3666. The result is that far too many of the works in the permanent collection are stored where they cannot be seen. In addition, the gallery has striven, with some success, to be included in the circuit of travelling exhibitions. Their popularity, measured by the fact that gallery traffic has tripled in the last six years, has meant more pressure on the space available for the permanent collection. As the gallery director told the City Council’s cultural and community services committee on Tuesday, “We are in the position now where we are not holding our ground; we are falling behind.”

The gallery’s proposal is modest. The building it wants to occupy exists and would

cost the council only $63,000 to make suitable for showing pictures. It stands in a place already well-patronised by tourists and other visitors. Visitors to the Arts Centre gallery might be attracted after sampling its charms to the Robert McDougall itself.

Ultimately, the city must come to grips with the need to build a new gallery. In the meantime, the total estimated running costs of $59,000 a year for an extension appear to be perfectly reasonable. The sum to which the council would commit itself by approving the project paltry weighed against the spending of $50,000 on Christmas lights, which a council committee has just approved, or the $75,000 recommended for the Youth Centre. ; f .

The Robert McDougall has been a centrepiece of Christchurch’s reputation as a cultured place in which to live. The City Council should welcome this small addition to its space. As Cr Linda Constable observed during discussion on the matter on Tuesday, the council’s role is not confined to providing drains and wiring, but also includes enriching people’s lives.