Potter Foundation $4M Gift to Melbourne Music
Image courtesy of John Wardle Architects
13 December 2016 at 1:59 pm
The Ian Potter Foundation has donated $4 million to the development of University of Melbourne’s new home for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (MCM) at its Southbank campus.
To be called The Ian Potter Southbank Centre the gift joins a series of donations from the foundation totalling $14 million towards the revitalisation of the university’s Southbank campus, including its support for the current redevelopment of the former police stables in Dodds Street.
Vice-chancellor Professor Glyn Davis said this latest philanthropic contribution would ensure world-class facilities for students at the MCM into the future and help showcase the talent of Australia’s next generation of artists and performers.
“The importance of philanthropy in supporting the arts cannot be overstated,” Davis said.
“This is why we are delighted to name the new conservatorium building The Ian Potter Southbank Centre.
“It is a mark of the foundation’s vital role in revitalising our Southbank campus, so the work of future artists and musicians, groundbreaking art collections and extraordinary architecture can be shared with the people of Melbourne.”
Chairman of The Ian Potter Foundation, Charles Goode AC said the foundation was pleased to support the relocation of the renowned Melbourne Conservatorium of Music to the university’s Art Campus at Southbank.
“It is a significant project in the heart of Melbourne’s art precinct and will allow the university to provide expanded music education of the highest quality for future generations,” Goode said.
The Ian Potter Southbank Centre is expected to open its doors in late 2018 for the 2019 academic year.
The gift forms part of Believe – the Campaign for the University of Melbourne, the university’s largest philanthropic undertaking. Aiming to change the lives of future generations, Melbourne is seeking to raise $1 billion in philanthropic funding by 2021, along with engaging 100,000 alumni in the life of the university.
The Ian Potter Foundation was established in 1964 by Australian financier, businessman and philanthropist, Sir Ian Potter who died in 1994.
