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High hopes for Canterbury Museum revamp

Cameron Joe
museum
Canterbury Museum  Cameron Joe

The Canterbury Museum is hopeful it will get the funding required for a $195 million redevelopment. 

The overhaul was announced in late 2020, with proposed designs of a new three-storey building on Rolleston Ave. 

The museum is working with Ngāi Tūāhuriri for concept designs, which have an emphasis on Māori and Pasifika. 

“We want to strengthen, celebrate and reveal more of the museum’s heritage buildings, provide 21st century visitor facilities, and meet the exhibition and storage needs of a modern museum,” says Canterbury Museum Acting Director, Sarah Murray. 

Murray says they have over half the funds required for the revamp, leaving them with $70 million to raise. 

She believes they will be able to meet this goal. 

“We’re confident that we have a strong business case for the redevelopment.” 

The museum has sent a funding request to the government through Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 

She understands that central Government must 'juggle competing priorities when allocating funding', and explains they’re not a part of any bidding process. 

If approved, the funding will be sourced from the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund. 

Manatū Taonga Active Deputy Chief Executive Neill Atkinson says the fund's purpose is to assist cultural capital projects that are facing fundraising shortfalls. 

The Ministry is unable to comment on where the museum's application sits at this stage. 

Canterbury Museum also has an agreement with the Christchurch City Council for the redevelopment. 

It includes funding for the revamp, and for the strengthening of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery.

The art gallery sits behind the museum, and has been closed since the 2011 earthquakes.

Council ran an expression of interest process for the gallery, and leased it to Canterbury Museum in 2020. 

The museum's funding agreement with council, however, is under the condition that costs of the revamp were to be gained by the end of 2021. 

Council Acting Head of Vertical Capital Delivery Brent Smith says council are still deciding whether to extend this deadline. 

If extended, council is to put $23.5 million towards the revamp, and $24.5 million towards McDougall gallery repairs. 

Read more about the redevelopment here.

mcdougall gallery v3
Ronald McDougall Art Gallery Cameron Joe