1 July 2009

Lanyon redevelopment leaves Nolan Gallery to rot

| johnboy
Join the conversation
8

Vicki Dunne is taking a swing at plans to do up the Lanyon homestead which neglect to do anything about the Nolan Gallery.

    “While I support the enhancing of Lanyon’s value as a heritage tourism destination, this Stanhope-Gallagher government is creating the classic donut effect,” said Ms Dunne.

    “The access road will be improved, there will be visitor orientation signage for Lanyon and a range of conservation works will be undertaken. All to enhance the visitor experience.

    “But the Nolan Gallery, which should be, as Lady Nolan suggests, considered part of the modern history of Lanyon, continues to languish and deteriorate,” she said.

    The Nolan Gallery was closed on 1 January 2007 after the government concluded that the facility was unsuitable for the collection and visitor numbers were in decline.

    “A simple analysis of the visitor numbers and special activities program shows a strong correlation between the two (see graph attached). When activities increase or decrease, so do visitor numbers, which was the case in the two years prior to the closure,” said Mrs Dunne.

Quite why the Stanhope Government so stubbornly insists on trashing the Nolans kind legacy to Canberra remains a mystery, but we’ll be sorry when the artworks on loan get recalled.

Join the conversation

8
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

all very weird

Smackbang said :

Or perhaps people who leave bequests should not make them conditional and seek to enforce their will on those who will benefit from their requests.

The main trouble here, Smackbang, is that the gift wasn’t conditional enough — in the sense that while everyone who was involved in the negotiations with Nolan or the early days of the gallery knows he said he wanted the paintings to be kept at Lanyon, but (thus far) there’s nothing in writing.

Also, it wasn’t a bequest; Nolan was very much alive in 1974 when he made the gift.

Or perhaps people who leave bequests should not make them conditional and seek to enforce their will on those who will benefit from their requests.

‘classic donut effect’ indeed.

Yep, and this forum will make him feel so loved and accepted that he will embrace change immediately.

Perhaps we need a secret tunnel that starts somewhere in CMAG, and magically whisks people to the Lanyon Gallery… That way all the posturing and bickering between Team Nolan and the freaking monkeys in suits that seem to occupy the higher eschelons of this fine city will end.

Clown Killer11:46 am 01 Jul 09

Stanhopes refusal to take any leadership on the issue of the Nolan collection exposes him as the little more than a maggot. Why on earth he chooses to be an arse-puppet for a clique of black turtle-neck skivvy wearing douche-bags and social parasites content to drain the public coffers under the pretence of public art remains a mystery.

The Nolan estate should recall the collection at once.

neanderthalsis11:06 am 01 Jul 09

Since Nolan did no unintelligible and uninterpretable bad public art, he has no relevance in Chairman Stanhopes Peoples Democratic Republic of Canberra.

Let’s face it, Stanhope is an uncultured and gormless peasant and his government a talentless void of second rate numpties. You can’t expect preserving part of our national heritage to be high on their agenda.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.