Canterbury Museum receives $10m boost towards fundraising shortfall

Friday, 15 September 2023

The Regional Culture and Heritage Fund has provided $10m to the Canterbury Museum redevelopment in Christchurch. (File photo)

The Canterbury Museum has been given a $10 million boost from a government fund for its once-in-a-lifetime redevelopment.

The $205m revamp involves demolishing large parts of the museum built between the 1950s and 1990s and restoring the historic parts of the complex.

The ambitious project is now $15m short of its required construction fund after the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund provided $10m to the Canterbury Museum. In a statement on Friday, the fund also announced $6.5m for the Forrester Art Gallery in Oamaru.

The money would help much-needed redevelopment projects continue to strengthen cultural heritage, said Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae, chief executive of Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

An artist’s impression of the atrium of the redeveloped Canterbury Museum with the blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling.

“Canterbury Museum is going through one of the largest museum redevelopment projects since the 1980's,” he said.

The funding would help pay for the capital construction stage, including earthquake strengthening of its heritage buildings, replacement of no longer fit-for-purpose connecting extensions, and the addition of an expansive basement storage facility beneath the entire complex.

The boost was “hugely significant and very much appreciated”, said David Ayers, chairperson of the Museum Trust Board.

More than 2 million items needed to be packed up and stored when the Canterbury Museum packed up its exhibition space in preparation for five years of closure and a complete revamp of its building.

“It’s further recognition that the museum redevelopment is important for Waitaha Canterbury and, as we care for about a quarter of the distributed national collection, for Aotearoa New Zealand.”

With this contribution, the museum had now secured more than $160m of the $175m needed for the construction phase, and could finance construction through to 2026.

Ayers said grants, philanthropic giving and community fundraising would be used to raise the remaining $15m for construction, and another $28m to $30m for new exhibitions and displays.

Canterbury Museum had inadequate storage, a roof that often leaked, and a stuffed elephant that was trapped in the attic.

Canterbury Museum had a five-year construction period to raise the extra money, and risks cost escalations of $500,000 a month if the redevelopment was delayed.

The museum – which had inadequate storage, a roof that often leaked, and a stuffed elephant that was trapped in the attic – closed in April for the five-year revamp.

A pop-up Canterbury Museum at CoCA on Gloucester St, in central Christchurch opened in July with visitor favourites and collection highlights, alongside temporary exhibitions.

The Forrester Art Gallery in Oamaru is constructing a new wing to provide more space for exhibitions and climate-controlled storage of its 2500-piece collection of New Zealand art.

“The extension focuses on collection care and accessibility, with a new accessible community education space, and improved facilities such as a lift, toilets, parking and wheelchair ramp,” Leauanae said.

Both projects include improvements to public category 1 heritage buildings.

The fund is an annual, last-resort fund, administered by Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage to support public cultural institutions such as galleries, museums and whare taonga that provide long-lasting benefits to communities.

“I look forward to seeing these projects continue, and to be able to visit these places in the near future.”