Submission 2015-2025 Long-Term
Plan Invercargill City Council
I am writing to elaborate on the
omission of an arts and cultural strategy for Invercargill particularly in
reference to the Invercargill City Centre Action Plan (ICCAP), the Southland
Museum and Art Gallery (SMAG), Anderson’s Park and City Gallery from the 2015-2025
Long-Term Plan. The only reference to arts/culture features on page 25 as
follows: “The one-off $4 million grant towards the redevelopment of the
Southland Museum and Art Gallery will be funded by loan rather than rates.” Given
the significant number of recommendations related to arts and cultural activity
and development in the ICCAP and the current challenges facing these organisations,
this is an opportune time for the ICC to consider the potential of an
amalgamation of the current skill base and resources into a single public
entity responsible for the delivery of relevant, engaging and innovative public
programmes that inspire communities to become active participants in telling
the stories of who we are as Southlanders – past, present and future.
Firstly I will provide some
relevant background context as I am aware that there is often confusion
associated with what a museum is and
does. This is significant in understanding that museums are public institutions
that are responsible for serving the needs of their own unique communities
and therefore commonly adopt a
multi-disciplinary approach to encourage new ways of thinking about the world.
In other words museums may utilise for example, performing arts, design, animation,
architecture, music, film, fashion etc. to explore and discuss our stories.
The definition of what
constitutes a museum in New Zealand is broad and includes:
whare wananga, art galleries,
whare taonga, tribal museums, cultural centres, marae, historic places,
heritage sites, science centres, interpretive centres, open-air museums or
exhibition centres, zoological and botanical gardens, aquaria and other
entities that facilitate the recognition, preservation, and management of
heritage resources and the values that are attached to them.[1]
For the purpose of this
submission I use the Museums Aotearoa definition of a museum’s purpose:
A museum helps people understand
the world by using objects, ideas and art to interpret the past and present and
to explore the possible future. A museum preserves and researches collections
of art, taonga, objects and information, which it holds in trust for society
and makes accessible in actual and virtual environments. Museums are
established in the public interest as permanent, not-for-profit organisations
that contribute long term value to communities.[2]
Public museums belong to
communities and therefore it is essential to ensure that communities have an
understanding of the value and relevance of their institutions. Any proposed
redevelopment of a museum must start with a visioning process which facilitates
dialogue between museum staff and the community. An inclusive process should
situate the museum as a centre from which a diversity of arts and cultural
activity is generated repositioning the museum as an integral participant in
the life of the city rather than merely a building that stores collections and
accommodates visitors. For example do members of the community have access to
collections held on their behalf? How are decisions made about what is
collected? How is relevance and inclusiveness addressed? Who decides on what
will be delivered in the way of public programmes? Communities are constantly
evolving, how does your museum embrace these changes?
A museum redevelopment without a
clear vision for the future is a missed opportunity - how does one articulate
how the significant additional expenditure associated with such redevelopments
will benefit and add value to the city and the district? Without a strategic
vision resultant from an inclusive process a redevelopment can provide little
added value. A museum is a community asset and should be treated accordingly. Museums
are primarily charged with serving their communities and therefore provide
visitors to Invercargill/Southland with an insight into what Southland and its
people stand for. In this sense too it is integral that these values are
reflected in the practices and processes that progress change in the city and
district. In 2007 the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) began a visioning process in
order to reflect the changes in their city and to reaffirm its commitment as a
publicly funded institution caring for a collection belonging to all
Vancouverites, to enrich life in the city, to ask important questions and to
connect communities through culture[3].
The museum’s visioning process sought to answer the following questions “who
and what are we; what do we stand for; what will make us unique and compelling
for visitors; and how can we enrich life for every resident of this city?” As a
result the MOV identified the following values:
·
Integrity
and excellence
·
Community
engagement
·
Dialogue and
debate
·
Promotion of
cultural understanding
·
Passionate
Advocacy for Vancouver
Six key themes for change were
also identified and are summarised as follows:
·
Focus: “The Vancouver Museum will train
its focus on Vancouver and make the city our primary subject. We will no longer
attempt to bring the world to Vancouver, but instead reflect and connect
Vancouver to the world.”
·
The power is in the mix: “Our entry point is the material
culture of the city. But we will use a much broader range of disciplines to
interpret Vancouver and unlock its stories. Our toolbox will include the artefacts
and narratives in our collection but we will ‘mix things up’ by incorporating
new ideas of investigation like the visual arts, design, architecture, urban
planning, music, new media, fashion, popular culture and photography.”
·
History in context: “The Vancouver Museum will
always make links between the historical record and the living experiences of
our visitors – what is happening socially, politically and culturally now.”
·
The new commons: “We will become a gathering
place for dialogue. And we will become agents of provocative conversations. The
VM will become a new town hall for a city hungry for connection – a gathering
place that will encourage social engagement and dialogue on issues of interest
and concern.”
·
Opening doors: “We will seek greater
participation and access for all residents…The new VM must go further to meet
our audiences where they live and to reflect their values and interests. This
means more consultation, more collaboration, and more opportunities for involving
citizens in the life of the museum.”
·
Innovative storytelling: “We will creative innovative
environments and events…connecting with our audience through creative
storytelling, leading edge exhibition design, adventurous programming, and a
unique exploration of Vancouver’s resonant images, artefacts, people and
places.”[4]
The Invercargill City Centre
Action Plan provides detail on further issues (below) that should be explored
in reference to any future consideration of a museum redevelopment. Although
the Queen’s Park site currently proposed is attractive, there are wider
concerns associated with the future of the city and district that should inform
part of a ‘big-picture’ decision making process. There are numerous aspects of
the action plan that could, for example, be addressed by a purpose-built museum
facility in the Wachner Place/Esk St area. Consider, based on current
SMAG/i-Site figures, the impact that 250,000 visitors annually could have on
the central business district.
The city centre:
Ø
Is a place
with iconic buildings and institutions
Ø
Is where
people gather
Ø
Is
acknowledged as the primary centre for retailing, business, culture and
entertainment
Ø
Accommodates
uses that are relevant to the community
Priority A.
City centre communication and promotion
Ø
Development
of a promotion strategy for the city
Ø
Development
of an events strategy
Priority B.
Business development and attraction
Ø
Review of
city centre relevant issues in the Spatial Plan, District Plan, LTCCP and other
policies
Priority F.
The improved integration of Tay and Dee Streets
Ø
Investigation
of whether relocation of the Visitor Information Centre and the Southland
Museum and Art Gallery will help overcome, or conversely, worsen the severance
Priority G.
Public spaces
Ø
A public
space in Esk Street
Ø
Improvements
to Wachner Place
Ø
Proposals
for a city centre market space
Priority H.
Arts, culture and interpretation
Ø
Organisational
improvements
Ø
Encouragement
of local art in public places
Ø
Investigation
of an arts centre in the city centre
Ø
Investigation
of the relocation of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery to the city centre
Ø
Encouragement
to owners of vacant or under-utilised buildings to accommodate local artists
and SIT fine arts and music students
Ø
Investigation
of the merits of an arts precinct
Invercargill and Southland are
fortunate to have so many people and organisations dedicated to ensuring the
community has access to arts/cultural activities, however this is presently compromised
by the lack of an overarching strategic vision. A visioning process can be the
impetus for stakeholders to move forward together capitalising on the skills
and resources that could be utilised collectively to articulate and achieve an
outcome that has the capacity to contribute measurable value to the city and
district.
Thank you for your consideration,
I would appreciate the opportunity to speak further to this submission.
Kathryn McCully BFA MFA
202 Lamond Street East
Hargest, Invercargill 9810
Phone: +64 21 105 2230 /+64 3 217 9276
[1] A Strategy for the Museums Sector, Museums Aotearoa, April 2005.
www.museumsaotearoa.org.nz.
[2] A Strategy for the Museums Sector, Museums Aotearoa, April 2005.
www.museumsaotearoa.org.nz.
[3] The Vancouver Story: A Vision for Change.
http://www.museumofvancouver.ca/sites/default/files/MOV%20Vision%20Book.pdf P28
