Section 3: Council Activities

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Cultural Services

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OVERVIEW

Cultural Services combines two of New Zealand’s leading cultural institutions, Puke Ariki and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. These two institutions provide regular exhibitions from around New Zealand and the world, as well as from their own substantial collections. Puke Ariki also provides library services across the district and is the Visitor Information Centre for New Plymouth.

Their collections form a large and priceless part of the heritage of Taranaki. To ensure that these collections are protected and accessible, Puke Ariki and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery are publicly owned and funded as core parts of the Council, with external partners contributing additional funds to maintain world-class services.

Cultural Services provides opportunities for all residents and visitors to have high quality cultural, educational and entertainment experiences, as well as access to information for personal and working purposes. Such facilities make a critical contribution to New Plymouth District’s vibrant lifestyle and in attracting and retaining skilled people in our community.

Under the Local Government Act 2002 one of the purposes of local government is to “…promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of communities, in the present and for the future”.

The provision of the art gallery, library and museum services promotes cultural well-being by providing an opportunity for everyone to access information, including art and cultural and historic collections, objects, exhibitions, performances, literature, music and video material. Much of this activity supports learning, enjoyment and understanding of the unique history and culture of Taranaki, as well as bringing the contemporary world to Taranaki.

Economic well-being is supported through the tourism appeal of these facilities and the ability of these services to attract funding and in-kind support. The Visitor Information Centre is an accredited i-SITE and supports the local tourism industry. Puke Ariki has won national recognition for the impact of its education and exhibition programme on social well-being, and environmental well-being is addressed through the partnership programme with Taranaki Regional Council.

Puke Ariki and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery have won national recognition for sponsor partnerships.

GOVETT-BREWSTER ART GALLERY

Responsibility

Rhana Devenport (Director Govett-Brewster Art Gallery)

Description of service

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, established in 1970, is Aotearoa New Zealand’s premier contemporary art museum. The gallery is recognised nationally and internationally for its unique global vision, its special commitment to art from the Pacific, and as home to the art and ideas of pioneering filmmaker and kinetic artist, Len Lye.

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery operates under the terms of the Monica Brewster Trust Deed. The gallery manages assets that include important and expanding collections of Taranaki, national and international artworks with a Pacific focus, a research library and the internationally significant Len Lye Collection and Archive, which is managed under the terms of the Len Lye Trust Deed and Deed of Relationship.

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery considers itself a pathfinder, an innovator and a catalyst for contemporary art and ideas. The gallery seeks to offer a responsive, accessible, relevant, dynamic and stimulating hub for an open exchange of ideas and engagements with the art and cultures of today - thus nurturing creativity, research, and dialogue for people from all walks of life. The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery has three main activity areas: art development, audience development and institutional development.

Scale of service

This describes the size and scope of the activity.

Four suites of exhibitions annually.
Four publications produced annually.
68,000 visitors per annum.
8,000 school visitors per annum.
60 education and cultural appreciation events annually.
800 artworks in the permanent collection, plus loan collections held in trust.
18,000 items in the Len Lye Collection and Archive held in trust.
2,000 books in the Research Library.
Dedicated website.

Rationale for activity

In 1962 Monica Brewster gifted the then New Plymouth City Council a significant endowment to be used for the purposes of establishing a public art gallery. A further bequest by Mrs Brewster in 1973 enabled the gallery to develop its permanent collection to be situated and maintained at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery for the benefit of the people of New Zealand.

The gallery opened in 1970 and is one of the district’s high profile services, and is a strong contributor to residents’ quality of life. It has a prestigious national and international reputation and is consequently one of the district’s points of difference in attracting domestic and overseas visitors and attracting and retaining a skilled workforce. The gallery’s status as New Zealand’s leading contemporary public art gallery and the value which that status confers on Taranaki and New Plymouth will continue. The gallery contributes to the cultural community well-being and contributes significantly to the tourism profile of New Plymouth District and allows the community to show the strength, diversity, innovation, leadership, relevance and accessibility of its art and cultural identity to prospective residents and businesses.

Contribution to Community Outcomes

The gallery primarily contributes to the Vibrant Community Outcome and also makes a significant contribution to the Skilled and Prosperous Community Outcomes.

Vibrant

A district that provides high-quality and diverse cultural and recreational experiences and where independence and creativity are encouraged.

V1 People have access to, and are encouraged to participate in, a wide range of high quality recreational, leisure, art and cultural activities.

V2 The region has high-quality public amenities and facilities.

V3 Individual responsibility, independence and creativity are encouraged.

V4 All people have access to local services and facilities.

V6 Support and celebrate all cultures.

Through its high profile changing exhibition programmes supported by an engaging and stimulating public events schedule that provides access for over 68,000 visitors per annum, the gallery makes a significant contribution to the Vibrant Community Outcome. It is also a high quality public facility to which all people have free access and where creativity is encouraged through highly utilised educational services and other life-long learning opportunities. The gallery supports all cultures with a special focus on Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific.

Skilled

A district that values and supports learning so all people can play a full and active role in social, cultural and economic life.

SK1 Learning and the creation of knowledge is valued.

SK2 High-quality education and training opportunities exist with strong links between businesses, schools and training institutions. There is excellent pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education with superb teachers and literacy programmes.

SK3 A wide range of innovative education, training and cultural opportunities are accessible to people of all ages.

SK4 A supportive and responsive learning environment exists where people are encouraged to participate.

The gallery continues to contribute to the Skilled Community Outcome by providing support to the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki fine arts and media students, and by providing extensive and high quality education programmes for primary, secondary and tertiary students. The gallery also provides life-long learning programmes for visitors of all ages.

Prosperous

A district that boasts a sustainable, resilient and innovative economy that prospers within the natural and social environment.

P1 Taranaki is an attractive place to work, do business and to visit.

P2 The region is a birthplace of innovation and ideas, where technological developments and opportunities for added value are capitalised on.

Given its importance as a tourist destination, the gallery supports the Prosperous Community Outcome by significantly contributing to New Plymouth’s image as an attractive place to work, do business and visit. The gallery is also promoted as a centre of innovation, ideas and technological development, particularly through the gallery’s work with the Len Lye Collection and Archive.

The gallery also supports the Together Community Outcome by presenting and supporting contemporary Maori art practice, fostering and supporting cultural understanding through engagement with contemporary art of many cultures, and demonstrating the high esteem in which diverse cultures and creativity are held within the community.

The gallery also supports the Sustainable Community Outcome by offering high quality physical amenities to the community and by promoting Taranaki’s unique heritage.

Negative impacts on community well-being

There are no apparent negative effects arising from the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery activity.

Facing the challenges - assumptions and risks

Assumptions

That current visitor levels and support from the community, Friends of the Gallery, Govett-Brewster Foundation and the Council will continue.
That the current levels of sponsorship and external funding will continue.
That the long-term relationship between the Len Lye Foundation and the Council will continue.
The age demographic will continue to shift with an increasing portion of the community aged over 65 years. Programmes for this sector of the community will be enhanced at no additional cost.
The number of visits from school children is expected to be stable over the 2009-2019 period, however the age demographic may shift.

Risks

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery’s national and international success has been highly dependent on its exhibitions and associated programmes. This in turn is dependent on the vision, programming and management skills and specific expertise of its director and staff.
A severe downturn in the economy may limit partner funding.
The contemporary nature of the gallery’s exhibitions implies that their content may not always appeal to all residents and visitors.
Not taking full advantage of changing technology (e.g. broadband and the internet) may result in lower usage and missed opportunities.

Managing risks

The director will ensure that the gallery retains and recruits quality staff to maintain its national and international success and that quality management and programming is always in place at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery to ensure this success continues.
The director and staff will give priority to maintaining and enhancing the excellent working relationships with the Govett-Brewster Foundation, Len Lye Foundation, Friends of the Govett-Brewster, other key partners and the wider community. Funding from other sources will be actively sought.
To accompany all gallery exhibitions, the gallery will continuously offer a broad range of public programmes to highlight each exhibition’s relevance to the community and to residents and visitors with a wide range of interests, ages and backgrounds.
The accessibility and quality of the gallery’s website will be developed and improved to cater for an increasingly digitalised world, global community and customer expectations.

Levels of service and performance measures

The following levels of service and performance measures outline the objectives we will set and how we will measure our progress.

Service objective	Related Community Outcome(s)	Performance measures	Performance targets
Service objective	Related Community Outcome(s)	Performance measures	2010/11	2011/12
Provide an accessible, innovative, engaging, diverse and stimulating exhibition and associated programme that enables the wider community to explore contemporary art and culture.	Vibrant 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 Together 1, 2, 4 & 7 Skilled 1, 3 & 4 Sustainable 4, 5 & 6	Number of exhibition suites delivered annually encompassing solo, group and artist in residence exhibitions from Taranaki, New Zealand and the world.	4 exhibition suites	4 exhibition suites
		Publications are produced annually.	4	4
	Prosperous 1 & 2	Growth of visitor numbers in line with projected tourism/population growth.	68,000 per annum	69,000 per annum
	Vibrant 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6	Percentage satisfaction with the gallery: - NRB survey - residents. - In-house visitor surveys.	Meets or exceeds baseline (including ‘don’t know’ responses) 85%	Meets or exceeds baseline (including ‘don’t know’ responses) 85%
	Vibrant 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6	The community have the opportunity to attend at least one major international exhibition annually.	1 exhibition	1 exhibition
Develop and care for a collection of contemporary taonga, with a focus on art from New Zealand and the Pacific, held in the permanent collection, or in trust by the gallery.	Sustainable 1, 4, 5 & 6	Continue to develop and maintain the collection with a focus on New Zealand and Pacific artworks.	Collection developed and maintained at minimum of 80% New Zealand and Pacific artworks	Collection developed and maintained at minimum of 80% New Zealand and Pacific artworks
Implement programmes that enhance the gallery’s status as a leading contemporary art museum in the Pacific in order to raise the district’s profile as a premiere arts location for tourists and residents.	Prosperous 1 & 2 Skilled 1 & 4	Percentage of the gallery’s visitors are from out-of-district (based on in-house survey and NRB information).	60%	60%
		Number of gallery placements in national and international markets.	At least 8 placements annually	At least 8 placements annually
		Percentage increase in online presence.	5% increase in average visitors per day to the gallery website	5% increase in average visitors per day to the gallery website
Maintain and enhance the gallery’s role as the national and international home to the art and ideas of Len Lye.	Prosperous 1 & 2 Vibrant 1, 2 3,4 & 6	Number of Len Lye exhibitions annually.	1 exhibition	1 exhibition
Provide high quality education, public and cultural appreciation programmes.	Vibrant 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 Together 1, 2, 4 & 7 Skilled 1, 2, 3 & 4	Number of education, public and cultural appreciation events delivered each year.	At least 60 events	At least 60 events
	Skilled 1, 2, 3 & 4 Vibrant 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6	Number of school visitors using the gallery as a quality out of the classroom learning experience.	8,000 school visitors	8,000 school visitors
	Skilled 1, 2, 3 & 4 Vibrant 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6	Percentage of teachers who are satisfied with school visits to the gallery (in-house surveys).	95% satisfaction by teachers for school visits	95% satisfaction by teachers for school visits
	Together 1, 2, 4 & 7 Vibrant 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6	Satisfaction rating by participants in public and cultural appreciation events annually (in-house surveys).	85% satisfaction	85% satisfaction

PUKE ARIKI

Responsibility

Fi Emberton (Manager Puke Ariki)

Description of service

Puke Ariki is the heritage and information portal for Taranaki, providing access to a wide range of learning and cultural services. It is an integrated museum, library and visitor information centre. This activity includes community libraries at Inglewood, Oakura, Waitara, Bell Block and Urenui and a mobile library. Waitara, Inglewood and Bell Block libraries also operate as Council service centres.

The heritage collections are drawn from the wider Taranaki region and the education and exhibition programmes have a regional audience. The Aotearoa People’s Network provides free internet access to digital content for everyone. Puke Ariki means ‘The Hill of the Chief’ and is located on the site of an ancient pa. The site retains mana as the pre-eminent place where the region’s cultural heritage is shared with the world and the rest of the world can be explored through books, information and exhibitions.

Scale of service

This describes the size and scope of the activity.

36,300 Puke Ariki members.
670,000 visits to Puke Ariki, the mobile library and five community libraries.
960,000 library items borrowed.
122,000 information enquiries handled.
500 school class visits, serving 11,000 students.
864,000 website hits.
60,000 tourist enquiries at the Visitor Information Centre - the New Plymouth i-SITE.
Heritage collection consisting approximately:
7,500 items taonga Maori.
700 metres archives.
450,000 items pictorial.
40,000 items social history.

Rationale for activity

Puke Ariki contributes to the cultural community well-being by providing a cultural hub for the community to access information, library services, exhibitions, research and heritage collections. It serves the people of New Plymouth District and Taranaki with public library, museum and visitor information services. The Council decided to integrate these services with the opening of Puke Ariki in 2003. This integration secures benefits for customers by providing a centre of excellence for anyone in the world seeking information about the heritage of Taranaki, and for the protection of that heritage. It also provides a centre of excellence for residents seeking information about any subject in the world. These elements support the Skilled, Sustainable and Together Community Outcomes.

Contribution to Community Outcomes

Puke Ariki primarily contributes to the Skilled, Together and Vibrant Community Outcomes. Puke Ariki also makes a significant contribution to the Connected, Prosperous and Sustainable Community Outcomes.

Puke Ariki libraries (central and community) contribute to the Vibrant and Skilled Community Outcomes by encouraging residents of all ages to build a love of reading. The libraries also support the Connected Community Outcome by providing excellent internet access at all community libraries. The museum contributes to the Vibrant and Together Community Outcomes by displaying permanent exhibitions of the Taranaki heritage collection and touring exhibitions from all over the world. The education programmes offered by the libraries and the museum support the Skilled, Sustainable and Together Community Outcomes. The Visitor Information Centre contributes to the Prosperous Community Outcome directly by providing information to visitors and residents and making bookings for tourism operators.

Skilled

A district that values and supports learning so all people can play a full and active role in social, cultural and economic life.

SK1 Learning and the creation of knowledge is valued.

SK2 High quality education and training opportunities exist with strong links between business, schools and training institutions. There is excellent pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education with superb teachers and literary programmes.

SK3 A wide range of innovative education and training opportunities are accessible to people of all ages.

SK4 A supportive and responsive learning environment exists where people are encouraged to participate.

Together

A district that is caring, inclusive and works together and where people have a strong, distinctive sense of identity.

T1 All people feel valued and supported with a caring community and have a sense of equality and belonging.

T2 A cohesive, united community exists based on strong relationships between people from different cultures, communities and organisations. Multi-ethnic diversity is celebrated and different cultural values are respected.

T3 The place of Maori is recognised and respected. Relationships that are mutually beneficial are built between Maori and the wider community.

T4 People from all sectors of the community are able and encouraged to contribute to their communities and opportunities to participate are enhanced.

T7 There is a sense of community where local distinctiveness and diversity are valued and allowed to thrive.

Vibrant

A district that provides high quality and diverse cultural and recreational experiences and where independence and creativity are encouraged.

V1 People have access to, and are encouraged to participate in, a wide range of high-quality recreational, leisure, art and cultural activities.