MOUNT Gambier City Council has foreshadowed rebranding the Main Corner, Riddoch Art Gallery and associated facilities in a move the local government body hopes will allow the cultural hub to operate independently in the future.
The proposed establishment of the Riddoch Arts and Cultural Trust Incorporated would include the renaming of the council-managed facilities to the Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre.
The new association would also enable council to pursue tax deductible charity status in respect to the gallery’s operations.
According to council documents, the ultimate long-term objective is for the centre to become financially capable to fund its own staffing and all other resources necessary for it to operate independently, while retaining council oversight.
“The long-term outcome would be that we have an independent board, that board would have control over operating the gallery, the collection under loan and all of the financial aspects,” executive administration manager Michael McCarthy said in a report to elected members.
“In the short term we are creating the entity so that we can work towards that outcome, but in the meantime essentially the board’s annual business plan will be council’s annual business plan for the Riddoch.”
Community wellbeing manager Barbara Cernovskis said the creation of the new entity would open up more funding opportunities for the centre.
“It actually gives us more opportunity to be able to look at what funding, what programs and what there is out there available to us, which as a local government entity we are not entitled to,” she said.
“This gives us alternate access to those types of initiatives.”
Mr McCarthy said the renaming and rebranding would also offer its own benefits to the Riddoch Art Gallery and associated facilities – particularly the Main Corner.
“This would enable the combined adjoining programmable spaces to be marketed as a whole to a broader audience, noting the Main Corner has no brand recognition beyond the local Mount Gambier community, whereas the Riddoch name has a historical association with arts and culture in the south east region of South Australia as well as on a national stage,” Mr McCarthy said in the report.
“It is anticipated the costs associated with this exercise would be principally funded from within the annual operating budgets of these facilities.”
Elected members raised several queries at last week’s committee meeting, however all in attendance voted in favour of the motion, so it could be discussed further at next week’s full council meeting.
“There was a lot of enquiry from the members which was really positive in terms of being able to support our culture,” Ms Cernovskis said.
“This is only the very first step in a pretty long journey and it is really going to be able to identify the right people for the board so we can cement the gallery where we believe it needs to be because it is the premier regional gallery in South Australia.”
