Art Gallery Nears $100m in Private Donations, Includes Record Gift
2 July 2018 at 1:25 pm
The Art Gallery of New South Wales is close to raising an extraordinary $100 million in private funding, including a record $20 million gift, to support a major expansion of the site.
The gallery has collected $96 million in pledges of philanthropic support, adding to the NSW government’s funding of $244 million, for the Sydney Modern Project.
Eleven “building founders” have each pledged $1 million.
Isaac Wakil AO and Susan Wakil AO last year gifted $20 million to the project – the largest monetary donation in the gallery’s 147-year history.
There were also donations of $5 million and more from the Ainsworth family, the Lowy family, Kerr Neilson, Mark and Louise Nelson, and Gretel Packer. Some donor gave anonymously.
Andrew Cameron AM, chair of the Art Gallery of NSW Foundation board said the expansion was a vital project for the arts in Sydney, “and one that cannot happen without private support”.
The gallery is hailing it as possibly Australia’s most significant public-private partnership in the arts.
The expansion will provide much-needed space to display more of the gallery’s permanent collection and the best exhibitions from around the world, increasing visitation to more than two million people a year.
Art Gallery of NSW director Michael Brand said the once-in-a-generation project could only reach its full potential with philanthropic support.
“Our generous donors include many philanthropists who are well known for their support of the arts, locally and internationally,” Brand said.
