BNZ Arts Education Sponsorship a First for Region

April 27 2010

News Release
For Immediate Release

BNZ Arts Education Sponsorship a First for the Region


Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology is pleased to announce the Bank of New Zealand as the principal sponsor of the new Arts and Media building on the Nelson campus.

The building is the largest ever single investment in the arts in the Top of the South. The new building will be a world-first in commercial multi-storey wood construction. It also heralds a new era for the arts by providing an inspirational and purpose-built base for art learning with up-to-date technology and art and media workspaces.

The Arts and Media Building, which is currently under construction, will cost around $9 million. For the first time it will bring all the arts students across different disciplines into one facility.

Stephen Paul, BNZ Senior Partner for BNZ Partners, Nelson says this is the first time BNZ has invested in the arts or arts-education in the Nelson Marlborough region.

“The BNZ NMIT Arts and Media Building is a much needed facility for Nelson. This cutting edge facility will help put NMIT and Nelson on the map and will celebrate and showcase our region’s arts and create a sense of pride in our region,” he says.

NMIT Chief Executive Tony Gray says it’s a significant project for arts and media in this region.

“We’re very appreciative of BNZ’s support as it shows that they, like NMIT, believe this building has the potential to be not only a catalyst for student learning but it will also be of significant importance and benefit to the diverse arts and media community and the general public in the Top of the South,” says Tony Gray.

“We are extremely keen to make sure this development provides access to, and experience of, the wide variety of genre that exist at NMIT, in the regions schools and in the workshops and galleries in the region. It would be our intention that over the next few years the School becomes synonymous with quality education and performances and exhibitions that show off the immense talent in our region.”

The building is the result of a national design competition created in partnership between NMIT and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). The building had to be sustainable and substantially made of wood. Timber is sustainable, renewable, locally available and requires less energy to manufacture than other building materials, like concrete and steel. This building shows that timber can be successfully used in multi-storey commercial buildings and it will be a showcase for commercial multi-storey wooden buildings.

Stephen Paul says, “BNZ is committed to helping New Zealanders and students succeed. Our involvement as principal sponsor of the NMIT Arts and Media Building supports NMIT to provide a state-of-the-art facility to help this happen.”

BNZ branches across the Top of the South will be displaying information about the new building from next month. Customers and the public will be welcome to pick up an information pack.

For More Information check out our detailed web page:

http://www.nmit.ac.nz/schools/artsmedia/artsandmediabuilding.aspx

ENDS

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