Section 6: Council Activities

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Cultural Services

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 are publicly owned and funded as core parts of the Council, with external partners contributing additional funds to maintain world-class services.  

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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.

• Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
• Puke Ariki

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 iSITE 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 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 considers itself a pathfinder, an innovator and a catalyst for contemporary art and ideas. The Govett-Brewster 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 has three main activity areas: art development, audience development and institutional development.Return to top

Scale of service

This describes the size and scope of the activity.

• Four suites of exhibitions annually.
• Four publications produced annually.
• 60 education and cultural appreciation events annually.
• 800 artworks in the permanent collection, plus loan collections held in trust.
• 4,000 items in the Len Lye Collection and Archive held in trust.
• 2,000 books in the Research Library.
• 8,000 school visitors per annum.
• 65,000 visitors per annum.
• 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 65,000 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.Return to top

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 (WITT) 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 Māori 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. Return to top

Risks

• The Govett-Brewster’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 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.

Asset information

Assets required

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Queen St, New Plymouth is a primary requirement for the delivery of services. The building and land is owned by the Council. The property is managed by the Council’s Property Assets Team by way of a service level agreement with gallery management.

The gallery and loan collections, housed within the gallery, comprise the other major asset required to deliver the service.Return to top

Managing improved and/or expanded services

The service objective of an accessible, innovative, engaging, diverse and stimulating exhibition and associated programme that enables the wider community to explore contemporary art and culture will continue to be met using the gallery’s current annual budget, combined with its ability to raise revenue for new programming via methods such as sponsorship, grants, growing the Govett-Brewster Foundation and support from the Friends of the Gallery.

There is an increasing demand for online access to the collection and engagement with the gallery to meet the needs of national and international visitors to the gallery. This reflects both the strong reputation and global reach of the gallery and the changing communication needs of audiences locally and worldwide. An improved website has been developed and will be refreshed regularly to meet demand. This will be funded and supported through the current budget, Council infrastructure support, and from sponsorship and grants.

Funding

Govett-Brewster is funded primarily out of rates. This is because public art galleries are unlikely to achieve full funding from admission charges. Public art galleries in New Zealand are usually largely funded from either rates or taxes. If an admission charge was introduced numbers through the gallery are unlikely to reduce costs and the Community Outcome statement V4 (all people have access to local services and facilities) would not be achieved.

In addition to rates revenue, the Govett-Brewster attracts significant external funding through grants, donations and sponsorship to reduce the cost to ratepayers.

The gallery also generates funding through donations at the door, through the Art and Design Shop, and through numerous fees and charges such as rental of the gallery facilities and its equipment, photographic services, touring exhibitions, events and cultural appreciation programmes.

Managing change

Based on projected population growth and trends, tourism growth, the gallery’s capacity to build its audience, and the events strategy of the Council, the numbers of visitors will increase during the life of the Community Plan. Growth in visitors to the gallery, however, is not expected to generate additional cost. These costs are determined by frequency and nature of exhibitions and therefore the numbers viewing them does not affect costs. There is, therefore, no planned increase in budget, as the gallery is adequately funded to meet these demands.

The gallery will ensure that it manages growth by:

• Surveying audience, matching marketing to audience, capitalising on events audience growth to increase visitor numbers.
• Monitoring the number of visitors to the gallery annually to ensure that increases in keeping with projected tourism and population growth are achieved.
• Monitoring the number of visitors from out of district to maintain at least 60 per cent of overall visitor numbers.

Maintenance, renewal and replacement of assets

The existing Govett-Brewster collection (excluding those collections held in trust) was valued at $18,705,300 in July 2008. To meet the gallery’s service objective to ‘Develop and care for a collection of contemporary taonga, held in the permanent collection, or in trust by the gallery’, and ensuring the gallery remains a leading contemporary art museum in the Pacific region, the gallery has an annual acquisition budget. Display of these works also contributes to the stated level of service of providing at least four suites of exhibitions per annum.

Income from the Monica Brewster and other trusts/bequests contributes to the acquisition budget and thus the development of the collection and some gallery asset renewal (excluding all property asset renewal). The operating costs for maintaining the collection are for maintenance and storage rather than renewals or replacements. The gallery’s position as a leading contemporary art museum requires funding above the approved budget for acquisitions. Additional funds for acquisition of artworks to develop the Govett-Brewster collection are provided through the activities of the Govett-Brewster Foundation, established in 2004.

The gallery building has a replacement value as at 30 June 2008 of $8,539,000. The existing building is considered adequate for the next 10 years and no major upgrades are planned, however roof maintenance, lighting and storage improvements, and environmental control upgrades are all required to meet essential levels of service.Return to top

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.
• 686,000 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.
• 55,000 tourist enquiries at the Visitor Information Centre – the New Plymouth iSITE.
• Heritage collection consisting approximately:
• 7,500 items taonga Māori.
• 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.Return to top

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 Māori is recognised and respected. Relationships that are mutually beneficial are built between Māori 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.

V3 Individual responsibility, independence and creativity are encouraged.

V4 All people have access to local services and facilities.

Negative impacts on well-being

There are no apparent negative effects arising from the Puke Ariki activity.

Facing the challenges – assumptions and risks

Assumptions

• That the current patronage, community and council support will continue.
• That the partnership funding will be maintained.
• That lending materials and exhibitions will keep pace with customer preference in terms of technology and content.

Risks

• The costs of major international exhibitions are high and exchange rate shifts may make it difficult to pay for them.
• A severe downturn in the economy may limit partner funding or necessitate limited opening hours.
• Theft or damage of heritage items.
• Not taking full advantage of changing technology (e.g. broadband and the internet) may result in lower usage and missed opportunities. Return to top

Managing risks

• Detailed business plans are developed for each major project and project budgets are monitored regularly. Projects are assessed against outcomes and affordability. In addition, the museum always incorporates 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.
• Puke Ariki maintains good relationships with its partners who contribute financial support towards the heritage collection, education and exhibition programmes. Options for securing additional resources to fund a higher level of service are continually being explored. In 2007 the Puke Ariki Development Charitable Trust was formed to assist in securing funding to maintain and grow services. If limited opening hours are made compulsory existing services will be maintained as far as possible.
• Collections are housed in environmentally controlled/stable conditions with restricted access to collection storage and after hours premises fully alarmed. For specific higher risk exhibitions and activities additional security staff or hosts employed to floor walk and engage with customers. Consideration to increase the number of display case alarms and security cameras.
• Puke Ariki is actively involved with initiatives around the NZ Digital Strategy and the National Digital Forum. This enables managers to gain insights into technological trends and emerging developments.

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.

Asset information

Assets required

Puki Ariki is located in the New Plymouth CBD. This museum, library and visitor information centre complex and associated land is owned by the Council.

The Inglewood, Waitara and Bell Block community libraries are co-located with the respective Council service centres. The Inglewood and Waitara land and buildings are owned by the Council. The Bell Block facility is privately owned and subject to a commercial lease.Return to top

The Oakura community library is located within the Oakura Primary School and subject to an occupation agreement with the school.

The Urenui library community is located with the Urenui Community Hall the land and buildings of which are owned by the Council.

The various Council owned properties are managed by the council’s Property Assets Team by way of a service level agreement with Puke Ariki management.

The other primary assets required to deliver the service span across library and museum collections, electronic data, associated technology, intellectual property and fit out. Taonga Māori is housed and cared for on behalf of tangata whenua.

Managing improved and/or expanded services

The original investment in Puke Ariki museum, visitor and library complex in central New Plymouth raised expectations for the local community. Opened in 2003, the first five years of operation have demonstrated a demand for excellence, both in the exhibitions brought to Taranaki and in the permanent exhibitions of our heritage. The education programme offered to local schools is running at capacity but there is still unmet demand. The Puke Ariki Development Charitable Trust is exploring ways of helping the council to address these issues, which might include property related improvements.

Cataloguing existing heritage collections and bringing them up to public access standard is ongoing and the costs of this are met out of the existing operating expenditure. The current level of service leaves a long-term backlog. This is likely to be partially addressed through externally funded projects but still remains a long-term challenge.

Provision has been made for book acquisitions over the life of this plan. The majority of this will be funded from renewals budgets, with a small remainder as additions.

Funding

Puke Ariki is funded primarily out of rates. This is because libraries and museums outside of major population centres are unlikely to achieve full funding from admission charges. Public libraries and museums in New Zealand are usually largely funded from either rates or tax. Numbers through the museum are unlikely to sufficiently reduce costs to the point where the Vibrant Community Outcome statement V4 (all people have access to local services and facilities) can be achieved within a user charge environment.

During the 2009-2019 period additional funding for development of Puke Ariki may be secured by maintaining and developing partnership and sponsorship arrangements. In 2007 the Council established the Puke Ariki Development Charitable Trust. The role of the Trust is a crucial factor in maintaining and improving funding for service delivery at Puke Ariki in partnership with the Council. Capital renewal expenditure is funded out of depreciation reserves in line with Council policy.

Managing change

The likely external factors that will shape the provision of Puke Ariki services are the demographic profile of the district, and the recreational and cultural preferences of the community. On average each household borrows about 35 items per annum from Puke Ariki and the community libraries. According to the Council’s 2008 NRB survey, 63 per cent of households surveyed had visited the library at Puke Ariki in the last 12 months. Thirty-five per cent of households surveyed in 2008 had visited a community library (reflective of the way they cover small districts).Return to top

There are also various factors relating to library, visitor information and museum services that will shape how the council provides the Puke Ariki service. These are:

• Growing elderly population expects sustained delivery of the traditional type of library and museum services but younger generations expect more digital content and interactive experiences.
• Advances in technology – growing use of the internet and the implementation of the NZ Digital Strategy.
• Demand for education – emphasis on lifelong learning means that Puke Ariki must cater for a range of ages.
• Being unable to respond in a timely manner (due to budget and other constraints) to rapidly changing technology through which information and cultural material is made available, especially from printed to electronic media, could adversely affect service delivery and result in loss of audience.
• Recreation trends – increased competition for the recreation dollar and free time, brought on by the increase in sophistication and range of recreational activities offered to the community.
• Requirement to meet Māori land, whakapapa and treaty research needs.
• Popularity of genealogical and local history research.
• The new role of Puke Ariki Development Charitable Trust in securing partnership funding for the development of new initiatives.

Puke Ariki will manage these changes through:

• Stronger partnerships working through the Trust.
• Better market research about customer needs.
• Prioritising promotional activity about available services.
• Developing a digital strategy with partners such as the National Library and with colleagues in NPDC.

Maintenance, renewal and replacement of assets

No new major property related maintenance issues are expected in the next three years. Ongoing maintenance will address existing issues. The property management relationship between the Council and Oakura School will be reviewed.

Replacement of the Horizon library management system will be necessary within the next three years as the current system has been rendered obsolescent by the supplier.

 

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