Hundertwasser Art Centre has funding to proceed

The Whangarei Art Museum is excited to announce that a group of Whangarei and New Zealand citizens have underwritten the final $495,000 required for the refurbishment of the Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Centre.

The underwriting means that the minimum $5 million of external funding required is now available and the project can proceed at any time.

The underwriters, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have released the following statement:

“We are supporting the Whangarei Art Museum, the city of Whangarei, and the people of New Zealand in providing this underwrite for the remaining $495,000 in funding for the Hundertwasser Art Centre, so that work on this iconic project can begin as soon as the Whangarei District Council confirms the project can proceed.

The Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Centre will provide significant economic benefits, which are very much needed in Northland and Whangarei, as well as a quality, curated art museum of national and international significance.

Unfortunately the project has become bogged down in politics that have little to do with its merit. The HAC is too important an opportunity to be lost, so we have stepped forward to ensure all the external funding is available.

We see the HAC as a project for the future; for our children and their children and for generations to come. It will be an important catalyst for boosting economic growth, employment and opportunities in Northland and the key to making Whangarei the vibrant gateway to Northland it should be.”

Whangarei Art Museum Trust trustee Andy Britton said “The WAM Trust has been responsible for raising the $5,000,000 external fundraising needed before the refurbishment could start. We can’t express how delighted we are to have achieved this.

“We are immensely grateful to this group for stepping up to underwrite the final amount, as we also are to the many other financial supporters who have contributed to the project to-date.

“The building plans are fully completed and ready to be lodged for final resource consent. All the structural engineering, design, costing and planning work has been done and the final architectural plans have been approved by the Hundertwasser Non Profit Foundation in Vienna.

“All that remains is for our Council to confirm their commitment to the project. The sooner the refurbishment is started, the better for Whangarei” said Mr Britton.

$1,350,000 of the total $13,000,000 required for the Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Centre has already been spent on the project.

Fundraising for the Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Museum will be ongoing for the three years the refurbishment takes to complete. If the project is dropped by the Whangarei District Council the $5,000,000 of pledged funds must be returned to donors.

ends

© Scoop Media