Hamilton Gallery has lost its stature as a major destination. The 60 year-old facility is inadequate to house the significant permanent art collection, which is significant and prized by the community. It is falling behind regional counterparts, having reached capacity in its collection storage and failing to meet contemporary collection management standards.
The age of the building means significant maintenance costs. One of the most critical limitations of the present building is its inadequate climate control. This presents a major obstacle to the Gallery’s programming as it can no longer meet the climate control requisites to satisfy contractual requirements for first class loans.
The Gallery is already losing opportunities, including key travelling exhibitions and cannot run large events. It is also missing out on potential tourist visitation from those travelling from the Great Ocean Road to the Grampians National Park.
With over 90% of the current collection in permanent storage unable to be displayed, the Gallery owes the donors and the artists a more respectful acknowledgement of the collection. Visitors also deserve better experiences than they are currently being offered.