2 months ago
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The National Gallery of Australia is set to finally retire its mop buckets following a historic $219 million investment from the Albanese government.
The grant comes from the government’s mid-year surplus and represents the largest single capital allocation since the gallery opened in 1982. It will allow the home of Jackson Pollock’s Blue poles to replace its roof, alongside windows and skylights, to make the building weatherproof.
To be rolled out over five years, the investment brings the total budget for NGA upgrades to $320 million, combining the new announcement with $101 million already committed and budgeted for essential works that are to begin in January.
In 2023, gallery staff were forced to use towels and buckets to prevent water damage in the building.
The NGA houses Australia’s most valuable art collection, valued at $7.4 billion. Its archives contain 155,594 works, including the world’s most significant collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
The building’s deteriorating condition was brought to light by a series of reports by this masthead in 2023, which spurred a broader $535 million federal pledge to upgrade the nation’s cultural institutions.
While the NGA appointed a builder in March for an initial $25.5 million waterproofing project, that phase only covered “high-priority” areas. It left a significant backlog of failing infrastructure and ageing mechanical systems unaddressed.
ACT independent senator David Pocock has repeatedly called on the federal government to fully fund the necessary repairs.
The new funding allows the gallery to move beyond patchwork fixes. The NGA can now execute a comprehensive business case for an array of works including replacement of skylights, windows and roofing, and upgrades to lifts and escalators, air-conditioning and humidity controls and other mechanical and fire safety systems, director Nick Mitzevich said.
Despite the massive scale of the works, Mitzevich confirmed the National Gallery will remain open to the public throughout the five-year renovation process with major restrictions to the footprint of its public displays beginning in 2027-28.
“We will still need the buckets until we complete all the works, but we have a plan to get rid of them. We’ll eventually have a ceremonial throwing away of the buckets,” Mitzevich said.
“We’ll have $320 million to spend on comprehensive rectification works. It is the largest funding the gallery has received since we opened in 1982 for critical works to maintain and repair the building and issues that have been well documented for more than 30 years.
“It’s a once-in-a-generation project to restore and rectify this extraordinary architectural building that holds a $6 billion collection for the nation.”
The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra has received $219 million for repairs.Credit: James Brickwood
Bundanon, the former home of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd, at Illaroo south of Sydney, was allocated $1.5 million in the same budget approvals to seal its access road. The National Library of Australia has won $4.5 million to complete replacement of windows, doors and its facade, Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher confirmed.
Gallagher said the investment was about safeguarding these national treasures for future generations.
“These upgrades will help protect collections while improving safety and accessibility for visitors, so our national institutions remain safe, welcoming and fit for purpose.”
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