Not such a bad day for art gallery

Press, 10 March 1987, Page 5

Not such a bad day for art gallery

It looked like being a bad day for the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. It had asked its administering body, the Christchurch City Council, for permission to use space in the Arts Centre for exhibitions and for five extra staff. The recommendation to the council’s policy and finance committee from its chairman was to decline the move to the Arts Centre and approve only one more staff member. In the end the gallery gained three more staff and the committee’s approval for its proposed move to the Centre Gallery. The policy chairman, Cr John Burn, withdrew his recommendation to oppose using Arts Centre space when it failed to get support from other councillors. Cr Burn said he had felt obliged to recommend against the Arts Centre plan because of the economics of the proposal. The McDougall — and the council — would incur capital costs of $95,000 to renovate the present Centre Gallery as the McDougall Artspace. One-third of that could be recouped through Lotteries Board subsidies. Annual costs for running the new exhibition space would be $58,899, including $22,021 for the supervisor (a new position) and $17,628 for an assistant (also a new position shared with the McDougall). Cr Burn said he was mindful of the cost to ratepayers.

Other councillors felt too much emphasis was given to physical aspects of the city rather than leisure activities. Cr Rex Arbuckle noted the $63,000 capital costs was the equivalent of one three-tonne truck for the works department. Given that perspective, he felt it would be money well spent. The gallery director, Mr John Coley, said the extra space was needed to allow the gallery to show contemporary works and give more space to the permanent collection. A supervisor was needed to run Artspace and an assistant, who would also relieve at the gallery. The gallery staff believed the Arts Centre proposal was a low-cost means of providing an extra chamber. Cr Clive Cotton felt that spending $95,000 on renovation warranted more than one year’s free rental from the Arts Centre. It should be four or five years, he said. That aspect will be negotiated further between the council and the Arts Centre. Mr Coley also argued for a registrar, a photo-grapher-designer and a security attendant. The committee was persuaded that the gallery should have a registrar, but not a photographer or another attendant. Both recommendations must now be passed by the full council and the money needed for Artspace allocated in the budget before the gallery opens its new space or gets its new staff.