The Art Gallery of New South Wales has unveiled a strategic vision and masterplan to transform itself into an art museum for the 21st century, with a proposal for a major expansion and renewed focus on serving a global audience.
The working title for the Gallery’s vision is Sydney Modern, a name which embodies the ambition of the Gallery’s Board of Trustees and its new director, Dr Michael Brand, to create a truly great art museum which can take its place in the Asian century, in an inter-connected and digitised world.
The Gallery’s aim would be to complete the project by 2021, the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1871.
The president of the Board of Trustees, Mr Steven Lowy AM said, “while the Gallery punches well above its weight we have developed this vision to ensure that it remains relevant and we must now begin a process of working with all stakeholders to agree on the best way to help us make that exciting vision a reality”.
Dr Brand said that despite the success of the Gallery in building one of Australia’s finest collections of Australian and international art, both historical and contemporary, the existing building alone was not able to meet current demand, let alone properly serve its audience into the 21st century.
Sydney Modern will be put to tender through an architectural competition, calling on submissions from around the world. Financially, state and federal funding will be required but a significant amount of private and corporate philanthropy will need to be collected in order to fund the project. To see the project succeed to its full potential would be a wonderful gift to the institution on its 150th birthday.
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Steven Lowy, President, Board of Trustees and Michael Brand, Director, AGNSW
