Melbourne will become home to Australia’s largest contemporary art gallery as part of a once-in-a-generation transformation of the arts precinct that will deliver new public space, better theatres and thousands of local jobs.
Premier Daniel Andrews joined Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley at the Arts Centre Melbourne to announce a major redevelopment of Melbourne’s arts precinct.
“This once-in-a-generation redevelopment of Southbank and the arts precinct will create thousands of jobs and attract millions of visitors from across Victoria, Australia and the world,” said Premier Daniel Andrews. “It’s a game-changer for our city that will cement Melbourne as the cultural capital of Australia.”
The centrepiece of the redevelopment is NGV Contemporary – a world-leading, standalone gallery with a focus on contemporary art and design. NGVC will be Australia’s largest contemporary art gallery, and will be built on the site of the Carlton & United Breweries Building on Southbank Boulevard.
The project will bring the Southbank and arts precinct to life, with 18,000 square metres of new and renewed public space – enabling visitors to move seamlessly from Southbank and the Yarra, through Melbourne’s iconic St Kilda Road cultural institutions.
The project will also upgrade theatres and public spaces at the Arts Centre Melbourne, and transform 1 City Road into a new creative hub in the heart of the city. The hub will be home to the Australian Performing Arts Gallery, an expanded Australian Music Vault, administrative, education and research facilities, and a new centre for small-to-medium and independent arts organisations.
The Victorian Government will invest $208 million over two years in the first phase of the project, to kick-start planning and enable the NGV and Arts Centre Melbourne to begin raising philanthropic funds for the revitalisation. The project is expected to create 10,000 jobs during construction, 260 ongoing jobs and attract an extra 3 million visitors each year.
The Arts Centre Melbourne and NGV together attract more than six million visitors every year – twice as many as the MCG. Creative industries support 242,000 jobs and contribute $22 billion to Victoria’s economy every year.
“The revitalised arts precinct will better connect our existing facilities, create new jobs, opportunities and spaces for our creative community, and offer free, accessible cultural experiences for all Victorians,” said Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley.
For more information, visit: www.creative.vic.gov.au for details.
Images: (1) Entry to Melbourne Arts Precinct from St Kilda Road / (2) View of northern end of Melbourne Arts Precinct from Southbank Boulevard – courtesy of Creative Victoria