Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 7 : Debate on New Art Gallery and Cultural Centre, 1970-1976

"COURIER MAIL" 16 JOt 1971 Brisbane, Qld. 2 THI COURIER-MAIL FRIDAY JUL'V'. 16 1971 ·1 The tourter-HaU I Our Liberly depend• on llie Freedom o/ lhe P,e.,, and Iha, cannot be limiled ac,ithoul bein• loaa, - J,//cr,on,· Art for .off . ' sake ·w ·BAT a bitter plll to ,wallow! Of all the capital cities In Australia, Brisbane is the only one to be excluded from the Itinerary of a $5 million French art exhibition. The reason, of course, is tl)e inadequacy of the so-called Queensland Art Gallery. It has .no ,1r conditioning, and the Pierre Bonnard exhibition sponsors· will not risk damage to the paintings by atmospheric variations. With or·'Without &ir conditioning, the small section set. aside for &1'~ in . the 70-ye'ar-old museum building is a sorry excuse for a State gall~ry. Queenslanders, · and · successive Govern– ments, have mown this.for 41 years - ever since the converted concert hall was made the ''tem– porary" home .for the State's art collection and . gtven the grand title of "ar~ gallery."_ Countless plans and campaigns for a new gallery have foundered in .a sea of official in– difference, disagreementi indecision, general apathy, and talk, talk, ta k. · There was a bold plan in 1958, for h1stance - complete with impressive sketches - for a gallery near the Botanic Gardens. Predict.ably, it fizzled out. .At last, however, the present GovernpieI)t has launched a specific projP.ct with construc– tion to start in 1973 on a new gallery in South Brisbane. Half of the six-and-a-half-acre site has been acquired at a cost of $1.7 million. But now comes that famlllar spectre, a dis– agreement. Is the new butlding to be only an art. gallery, or serve a combination of cultural pur– poses? Two schools of thought have emerged. It is more than reasonable to e:xamine both proposals, for each has merit. It will be most unreasonable, however, if the issue, pro and con, delays th~ project. A planning committee for the gallery ls e:x– pected· to be announce(\ ne:xt week. Its first duty must be to discard the inertia of the past, determine the precise function of the building, and get on with it. . For without a major art gallery, Brisbane really cannot pretend to be, in the full sense, a major city. ' -;> q/7 /71 n -r j shan e Gallery land I THE State Government ha • acquired· • ix propertie1 In South Bri1bane for the 1ite iof t~• propo1ed new $7 million art gallery, Purchase of another four /ltes ls in the final negotla– 'Ion stage. Acquisition of .lve more sites ls under re- view. • The proposed gallery is to be bullt near the south– ern approach of Victoria !Bridge, South Brisbane. The Works Minister (Mr. Hodges) yesterday an– nounced the appointment of au art ,allery " teerl committee· to rec r p1in deYlnlng functional and accommodation re– quirements for the new gallery. t The commlttee"~ta: w1ie ducatlori Director-. Qeri– ral (Mr. A. E. Guymer>; , he Queen~land Art Gal- ' lery bo'ard of truateea• chairman (Bir Leon Trout) ; a board member (Mr. A. J. Stratlios>; the Queensland Art Gallery Director (Mr. J. Wieneke); the architecture profe11110r nt Queenaland Unlversltyl <Professor o. E. 'Roberta), and two Works Depart– ment senior officers. The steenng committee wm meet early next month. Mr. R. Pavlyahyn, acting Works Department· Under– Secretary, wm be I corn-, mlttee chairman. , THI COUllllll--MAIL MONDAY AHGUST. 2~~17'1 . T.A.B. backimg~ ·for a rt u-1;g8d By DAVID ROWBOTHAM Queensland T.A.B. punters 'left more than $1 million in winnings uncollected each year, the State Opposition spokesman for cultural activities (Mr. F. P. Bromley, Norman) said last night. "Why couldn't these unclaimed dividends go toward the new State art gallery?" he asked. ' Mr. Bromley marte his es at least $6 million ea.en ·ket business Is Increasing proposal of a definite use ~·ear !rom this amount b~t .ail the tlmei" he said. , of the T.A.B. for the arts by people,'' he said. (The Go den Casket ls while speaking on cultural This In addition to the used 'to assist hospital ser- act.ivltles In a Brisbane ra- $1 million unclaimed dlv'- vices.) . · dlo broadcast. dends, went Into Consoli- Mr. Bromley said: '!I He also proposert the In- dated Revenue, he said af- suggest tha.t people who ,trod uctlon of special "An ter the broadca.5t. never buy Casket tickets, or Un ions for Art.". "The rest or the 'take' who do not bet on the Mr. Bromley said the goes In administration and races, would, n vertheless Queensland T.A.B. was an hand-outs to racing ·and buy lots of tickets in spe- $80 million annual bus!- trotti ng clubs." clal Al't Unions for Art.' ness. He said .$13.75 was Mr. Bromley said tbe 'es- The Sydne~ Opett1, House taken out or every $190 tn.bllshmcn t ·of the T.A.B. louery, hl\d qot •advei-seJy whlch was waged as a bet. hn.d not detrimentally a(- affected lot.terles like the ''The Governme1,1t recelv- Jected the Golden Cll.!lket. Golden Casket jn Ne,v More Caskets were drawn South Wales, he, said. ~ now than ever be tore. The new Queensland ·Art "In fact, the Golden Ca.~" ,nllcry, now ost1m11.ted to · cost $7 million, should be built as soon as possible to •1·educe c·ost-lnflatlon. a.net , meet. the urgent need for / IL. he said. \