The Arts Centre - A National Taonga?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 พ.ค. 2024
- Christchurch Arts Centre in the firing line
On a cold May morning, a tram-load of tourists stares out at a large “Save the Arts Centre” banner dominating the historic stone clock tower in central Christchurch.
“If anybody in the tram’s got a spare million,” the driver quips, “the Arts Centre Trust would love to hear from you.”
How did it get to this?
Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre is a popular hub for Christchurch’s arts and cultural activities.
“It’s pretty rare anywhere in the world to have the largest collection of heritage buildings in the country which also happens to be an arts centre,” says embattled Arts Centre director Philip Aldridge. For the past three years the Christchurch City Council has given the Arts Centre $1.83 million a year. Under this year’s draft long term plan, it receives nothing.
“It doesn’t make any sense at all,” says Aldridge.
From 1973, when then Prime Minister Norman Kirk announced the gifting of the former university to the people of Christchurch as an arts centre, the 23 heritage buildings housed galleries, studios, shops, theatres, cinemas, cafés, bars and markets.
Following the 2011 earthquake, the Arts Centre embarked on a $290 million restoration project. So far, 20 of the 22 Category 1 heritage buildings have been restored.
The Arts Centre is now home to about 70 organisations covering art, entertainment, cinema, food and creative industries - including Frank Film. Core tenants include the University of Canterbury, Observatory Hotel and Health Technology Centre. Last year it broke pre-earthquake visitor numbers; this month its new Saturday market was seething.
So what’s gone wrong?
The Arts Centre is expensive to run. Insurance has shot up from $125,000 a year before the earthquakes to $1.2m, annual rates sit at $205,000 and heritage buildings are costly to maintain.
The Arts Centre Trust has asked the Council for $1.8 million to cover insurance, rates and $400,000 for operations.
As Aldridge argues, the Trust’s remit under the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Act - to foster and promote art, culture, creativity and education - prevents all costs being passed on to tenants.
“The profit these organisations deliver to the community isn't a financial one. Throughout the world these sorts of institutions that benefit the community require public subsidy. Yes, there has to be some fiscal responsibility and sustainability within that but if you remove the subsidy from any cultural organisation then it fails.”
Without Council funding, argues Aldridge, the Arts Centre would have to dissolve the Trust. The only possible new owner, he says, would be the Council.
Around the Council table, views are divided.
“I’m not sure that Council is the best owner,” says councillor Sara Templeton. “The Arts Centre Trust is able to get a huge amount of philanthropic funding and people simply don't donate money to councils.”
Councillor Sam MacDonald wants to explore the option further.
“What we're saying is, if we were holding it, is that how we would run it? We just want an assessment effectively saying, does it make sense to have this many people running the place for the size of it and things like that.”
At a Council meeting last month, Mayor Phil Mauger accused the Arts Centre of taking the “narrowest view possible” of its legislative responsibility and suggested new trustees “who can do the job” be appointed.
Public feedback has zeroed in on the derelict Dux de Lux building. During his 2022 mayoral campaign, Mauger said he was keen to work with Redux, the group proposing to restore the popular bar/restaurant in return for a 50-year rent waiver. The Arts Centre rejected the proposal, saying it would be irresponsible to commit to a tenancy that gave no return for that long.
The idea that private interests could run some of these spaces more economically rumbles underneath this debate.
As Mauger told The Press this year, "I think there is still an opportunity for us, the council, to buy that building and maybe look after it ourselves or get someone else to get it fixed."
Changing the legislation to allow for more private interests, says Aldridge, “would be a hell of a fight”.
According to MacDonald, the intent of the legislation “is quite enabling”.
“What it effectively says is that it doesn’t make sense to have this place sitting entirely empty because you can't afford to run it so there will be aspects of it that actually makes sense to rent out so you can fund the other things. It will be just whether that balance is right.”
Does the Council have other plans for the buildings?
“Nothing is off the table. But just at the moment, nothing is on the table either,” he says.
Both the Arts Centre Trust and Council are now looking to the results of the draft plan’s submission process. “We subsidise sport really heavily,” says Templeton. “And not everyone’s sporty. A lot of people are arty or a lot of people are a combination and we need to do both.”
By Sally Blundell - บันเทิง
Another quality production. Thank you for the advocacy.
I think it’s appalling that our council hasn’t included it in the draft long term plan. Simply appalling. They seem quite happy to fund new projects without protecting what we already have! I had my doubts about what Phil Mauger would do as our new Mayor, and frankly I’m not overly surprised at how things have gone so far
Amazing video. Made me appreciate how lucky we are to have the arts centre
Another great film!
I grew up in Christchurch and the arts centre was one of my favourite destinations as a child. My grandmother and I would often go to see the productions for children put on by the court theatere when they were tennants there and it was always such a magical experience as a small child in the late 90s and early 2000s. The market on the weekend was also always a beloved occasion for me back then too, I'd always get a treat from the fudge cottage, alongside cool hand crafted toys or a colourful beaded braid put in my hair, and I can't forget to mention the kids fest activities that would take place at the arts centre also! I went to many great events there as a part of that festival, I recall a kite making workshop being my favourite! There was also many school trips to the centre, Rutherford's Den in particular, which felt like we were going to hogwarts for the day, as they would let us dress up in cloaks and teach us about the magic that is science! The observatory was the first place I ever got to look through a telescope into the depths of space, I could go on forever about the many integral childhood moments I had at the arts centre and how they helped shape me into the creative adult I am now!
It would be an absolute shame to lose such an important cultural centre to the capitalistic vultures that wish to sink their teeth into a privatised money making scheme, shame on the council, they should be proud to have such an amazing place in their city. SAVE THE ARTS CENTRE!
I think we do take it for granted, as a given. It's that part of Christchurch thats always been there. Kudos for highlighting its needs. I will be heading down there this weekend to enjoy the space and support the businesses. Kia Ora.
Any relation to the band Arlo Mac from Hawkes Bay?
@@mierypesado6740 No Sorry, I work on a Mac and have an Arlo security system. 😄
Good luck fundraising. My opinion.....do it without council if at all possible.
The arts centre is apparently fully tenanted, but there must be space to accommodate some of the Canterbury Museums exhibits, which have been locked away from the public and a generation of high school students, until 2029. If such space was utilized, perhaps some money for museums could be redirected towards the art centre coffers. As it is virtually 'straight over the road', maybe the Museum could extend into it as space allows, on a permanent basis.
It’s interesting to see this. I was watching a video about Real Madrid and their new stadium, which is 100% self funding. Shops, cafes, events, multi use grounds. And god knows how much that thing cost to upgrade, something faaaaaaaaar beyond anything this country will ever see over the next 100 years. But they’ve made it work, it’s financially sustainable, so there’s hope for little old Christchurch yet.