New Gallery Concept Designs Revealed

After extensive community consultation and engagement, Southern Grampians Shire Council is set to unveil concept designs for the New Hamilton Gallery (NHG) developed by award-winning architectural firm Angelo Candalepas and Associates.  

The concept designs will be exhibited from Wednesday 4 June to Friday 20 June 2025, inviting community to share their feedback.  

Southern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Dennis Heslin said the concept designs have captured community ideas and created a space that will represent our unique region.  

“The New Hamilton Gallery reflects the aspirations of our community – it’s a space shaped by our public voice and developed in collaboration with Australia's best architects. It represents an ambitious vision developed by the community for our future.  

“This is more than a building – it’s a future destination for culture, connection, and creativity. It is an investment in our town, our community and future generations. During the recent co-design sessions, the community were extremely clear in their expectations of this building.  

“In particular, there has been a significant increase in our family audience to the Gallery, two years ago only 3% of our audience were families, now it has increased to 23%. Our demographics are represented by design choices within the concept plans.”  

In September 2024, Angelo Candalepas and Associates were awarded the contract to co-design the concept plans for the new Gallery. Council was successful in obtaining a $5m federal government grant through the Regional Precincts and Partnerships program to fund the cost of the designs for the New Hamilton Gallery, CBD Streetscape, Community Hub and new town square. Candalepas and his team are also currently designing the new $1B National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.  

Hamilton Gallery has an internationally significant collection having recently loaned artworks to Mona, the National Gallery of Australia and Art Gallery of South Australia. It has also had a significant reputational boost through major exhibitions such as Emerging From Darkness, which drew crowds from across the country with a record-high of tourists visiting resulting in an increase of visitor spend of over $1m per month.  

“This building will be considered the best regional gallery in Australia,” said Director of Hamilton Gallery, Joshua White. “It will not only give the audience and community an experience to be proud of but it is designed to keep operational costs low, enhance revenue and increase visitor spend across the township.”  

In June 2024, Council endorsed a $10m contribution within the long-term financial plan to the construction of the building with Council seeking a further $20m from the state government, $10m from the Federal government and $30m from private donors.  

Although the preliminary estimated cost plan is slightly above $40m, Councils contribution is capped at $10m. Furthermore, the architects have put forward several ways to manage the budget, such as staging the project, modifying aspects of the design, utilising more cost-effective materials, or increasing private funding.   

It is also important to note that this project has always relied on external funding. Therefore, any costs exceeding the $40m allocation will not affect the council’s $10m contribution.  

The community is invited to view the design via the Council and Hamilton Gallery website or at the Brown Street Council Office and the Hamilton Gallery.  

Feedback can be provided online at here and via hard copy feedback forms.