The trust that manages the gallery says the demolition work will close off the main access to the square in June, which will significantly affect visitor numbers. Photo: CC-BY-SA-3.0 / Rachel.healy
The future of Wellington's City Gallery Te Whare Toi, one of the country's leading public contemporary art spaces, is uncertain.
It may close temporarily because of the disruption and noise while a nearby building is demolished.
This week, Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington tumu whakarae chief executive Diana Marsh confirmed to RNZ's Culture 101 that it was "currently looking into options".
It recently learned the main access to the gallery's grand 1940 art deco building via Te Ngākau Civic Square will be closed in June, while demolition work on the nearby Civic Administration Building, which is vulnerable to earthquakes, takes place.
"The significantly reduced access to Te Ngākau Civic Square, along with increased noise and disruption, will have an impact on our operations and our visitor numbers so we're looking into options to mitigate these issues, including exploring alternative venues to show the exciting exhibitions we have planned," Marsh said in a statement.
"We are grateful to our arts sector whānau throughout Wellington who are supporting us."
Experience Wellington manages the gallery alongside a range of other Wellington museums. It said this closure was originally planned for February 2025.
In December 2023, the gallery significantly reduced its weekday opening schedule to a few hours a day from 4pm to 7.30pm, to accommodate construction work on the city's new library.
While access to the gallery and Te Ngākau Civic Square will be closed from June until February 2025, Wellington City Council confirmed in March access continues from Harris Street and the City to Sea Bridge.
In terms of future programming, City Gallery Wellington has two new exhibitions due to open in June. It was announced earlier this year that they would host an exhibition of the work of celebrated artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman in October 2024.
The changes come at a challenging time for City Gallery and Experience Wellington.
As Culture 101 reported in February, following the departure of former Experience Wellington chief executive Sarah Rusholme late last year - who led a controversial restructure of the organisation in 2021 - there have been two more departures from the senior leadership team: chief operating officer Louise Saviker and art and heritage director Elizabeth Caldwell.
Caldwell, who had been director of City Gallery since 2012, left in March. Experience Wellington confirmed this week that recruitment for her replacement had not begun.
In October 2023, Experience Wellington closed Capital E, the national theatre for children, after 25 years.
The restructure of Experience Wellington in 2021 met with strong criticism across the visual arts sector, with particular concerns over the loss of a sole director role for City Gallery Wellington.
"City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi is more than its building," Marsh said.
"We have built a strong reputation for showing exhibitions that test art's boundaries, challenge our audiences and invite debate and we look forward to continuing to deliver art which sparks emotion, curiosity and reflection and connects communities, to the people of Te Whanganui-a-Tara despite the impact of construction work which has disrupted several businesses in the CBD."
Last year Wellington City Council agreed to increase its commitment from $252 million to $329m for the town hall redevelopment in Te Ngākau Civic Square.
This was at the expense of other structures: in November councillors voted against spending $230 million on strengthening the City to Sea Bridge and the Capital E structure under Te Ngākau Civic Square.
Instead of strengthening, the council allocated $65 million "to investigate other options including demolition" of the iconic bridge and its artwork.