The 'backdrop' to the art and mayoral tension
Pick apart Nobby Clark's seven hours of back-to-back media interviews and there was a topic that crept in which seems to be behind some tension between the Mayor and some in the arts community.
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark believes there was a stretch of about six- or seven-hours last week when he was tending to media interviews.
A five-minute speech at an arts event where he used the “n-word” caused days of media attention and Clark didn’t hide from that. That’s been well-documented, and this is not about relitigating that.
But pick apart those six or seven hours of back-to-back media interviews and there was a topic that crept in which seems to be behind some tension between Clark and some in the arts community.
While explaining his speech to The Tribune last week Clark also noted there was some “unease” around the preference to split art away from the new museum build in Invercargill.
Previously the pyramid building on the edge of Queens Park was home to the Southland Museum & Art Gallery, providing both a museum and an art gallery under the same roof.
That’s not the plan for the future though.
“If we could have a 1000sqm art gallery that also had areas that other artists could perform, and people could sit and watch, I think that would be great,” Clark said about the preference for a split.
In an interview with The Platform Clark also touched on the matter.
“The backdrop to all of this is we are in the process of building a new museum and we’ve decided not to have an art facility in the museum. We’ll eventually have an arts facility somewhere else, probably in an adjoining building but not in the museum itself. That’s created a little bit of unease with our art people.”
The Tribune contacted Clark on Monday to expand further on that, but he said he would need to consult further with his colleagues.
Nigel Skelt, who is the lead councillor for the museum build, said the plan was to have the ability to display some art in the new museum, but it would be a museum and not an art gallery.
It’s obvious a broader public conversation will probably be needed for a plan of attack around art, and what role the Invercargill City Council and in turn ratepayers might play in a dedicated public art facility.
The Invercargill Public Art Gallery [IPAG] (formally Anderson Park Art Gallery) previously operated out of Anderson House until that was closed to the public because of earthquake concerns.
IPAG is currently based at He Waka Tuia Art + Museum, which is a transitional art and museum space.
We now know what the museum is transitioning to, but the art component not so much.
Is the future multiple smaller art offerings or a dedicated larger public art gallery space? And where should that be?
Within the museum building? Beside the museum? In the CBD?
In 2018 the Invercargill council agreed to build a new Arts & Creativity Invercargill [ACI] centre.
The plan was to construct the centre at Wachner Place with the project initially estimated to cost $16 million. It remains in the 2018-2028 long-term plan.
However, the museum and art gallery then closed which stalled the project.
And since that hotelier Geoff Thomson has also decided to develop the Menzies Building in Esk St West into a 4.5 star hotel.
It has included buying some run-down Esk St West buildings from the council which was initially earmarked as part of the location of the ACI development.
Invercargill Public Art Gallery chairperson David Kennedy felt the current He Waka Tuia space proved there was some synergy in having the art and museum organisations in a combined space.
Much of the staffing requirements were the same, he said.
“It seems to be a concern that they are now looking and separating the two and that synergy might not be the same,” Kennedy said.
“We’d be prepared to consider most options, but it seems a bit unusual after working together for so long and looking at a shared space that we are now looking at separating it out.
Kennedy did acknowledge there have been some positives in having the Invercargill Public Art Gallery presence in the centre of the city.
“What I think is really important is our institution is consulted on changes, there seem to be people making decisions for us rather than with us.”