You wouldn’t want to get involved in a project in the Northern Territory if it involved anything cultural! Back in 2017, for instance, a National Aboriginal Art Gallery was proposed for Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Is it there yet? No – but something half the size may yet happen, as long as it doesn’t intrude on the footy oval.

Further north in Darwin, the former ALP Territory government was persuaded that the Museum & Art Gallery of the NT (MAGNT) needed a more central venue than its charming coastal site and proposed the Northern Territory Art Gallery (NTAG) for the CBD. Now the newish CLP government doesn’t feel the need for art so close to its mega-Parliament building.

It’s just announced that “the NTAG project was significantly underfunded and is now estimated to be more than $100 million over budget. This pet project of the former Labor government was committed to without a business case, without proper consultation and without an operational funding plan.
So, “The Finocchiaro CLP Government has decided the future use and operation of the site will be subject to a public Expression of Interest process to identify the most cost effective and impactful use of the building, which is currently under construction. Minister for Arts, Jinson Charls said while the CLP Government was committed to completing the building, rather than allowing it to become another underfunded Labor project or become a stranded asset, it was time for action.

“Rather than simply accept what we have inherited, we want to go to market and ensure we are achieving the most effective model going forward for the benefit of all Territorians,” said Mr Charls.

“The Territory can’t afford to build something we can’t operate or maintain. By seeking proposals from multiple potential operators, with a view to selecting a model of operation that best contributes to rebuilding the economy and restoring the Territory’s lifestyle, we can be open to alternative funding opportunities outside of the Northern Territory Government”.

“The open EoI process will allow interested parties to articulate in detail the potential costs involved to operate, the benefits to the community and specific model used to maximise the possibilities the site offers”.

Could the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, MAGNT, the intended tenant of the new building, even put in an EoI itself? I’m told it “is still gathering information on the announcement regarding NTAG”. But Adam Worrall, Artistic Director of the Museum, has been quoted as saying that this change of mind is “compromising on the artistic culture, history, and community of the Territory”.

Meanwhile, the uncompromising Chief Minister, Lia Finocchiaro has said if she couldn’t find a suitable tenant, she’d “put a chain around the door and lock it. For its expected operating costs are likely be around $8 million per year and the new CBD gallery did not have a storage facility for the entirety of MAGNT’s holding collection”, which she added, was currently falling into ruin in storage at the Museum’s current location at Bullocky Point. “It’s in a shed, rusting to the ground”.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Chair of MAGNT has resigned amid all the fallout. For Clare Martin is the former Labor Chief Minister of the NT, and presumably feared that her political history would make negotiations with the CLP government today tricky. So she has quit less than a year after her contract was renewed by the previous Labor government, having been appointed to the role in 2018. It is rumoured that MAGNT’s founding Chair, Allan Myers KC – who negotiated the Museum’s separation from the government, has been approached to return.

Interestingly, the NT governments’ favourite builder, Sitzler is still proudly telling its website readers that it’s going to deliver its $100m NTAG project in 2025, not mentioning a 100% overrun: “The gallery will provide world-class exhibition spaces to showcase the Territory’s outstanding art collections, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks.  Sitzler will deliver four large galleries with high ceilings, a spacious foyer and workshop and interactive spaces. A shop and café will be delivered with connectivity to the landscaped Civic and State Square green spaces to help activate the area”.

Does that sound like a building that could be anything but an art gallery?

But then Sitzler was also commissioned to build another art gallery, the notorious National Aboriginal Art Gallery, now the ATSIAGA – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia – in Mparntwe. It was a $154m project with $84m from the Feds. Sitzler got the gig in July last year, with $2.2m allocated immediately for engineering works. These were presumably cancelled in September when Chief Minister Finocchiaro called for a rethink to save the oval for footy, just a few weeks after the CLP was elected. The international design, now junked, had cost the NT at least $7.2m. Anyway, the ATSIAGA isn’t mentioned on the Sitzler website.

But at least ANZAC Oval has a master-plan. Oddly, it was delivered by Minister, the Hon Robyn Cahill under her portfolio for Trade, Business and Asian Relations. Not an arts project any longer.

https://dli.nt.gov.au/projects/anzac-oval-precinct-master-plan

Her order of priorities is: “The precinct will feature a multi-purpose space designed for community use, including sport and recreation and multicultural activities, as well as a First Nations art gallery designed in a culturally appropriate way. The 50’s Plus Centre and the Totem Theatre Complex situated in the north-eastern corner of the site will not be impacted. The master plan will provide additional carparking near the theatre”.

But at least “The NT Government is committed to building the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia (ATSIAGA) and retaining the ANZAC Oval. The gallery will be built within the allocated budget of $149 million”, which suggests it’s lost $5m despite all the redundant expenses already occurred. These have included some 5 staff appointments to run a non-existent gallery.

But, confidently, Minister Cahill asserts: “The design and approvals timeline will take approximately 12 months, followed by an 18 to 24 month construction period. The project is expected to be completed in late 2027”.

But that just might not take into account politics in Canberra. For the recently re-elected ALP Member for Lingiari, Marion Scrymgour, has told the ABC Alice Springs radio station that she is considering trying to block the CLP NT Government from using $80m of federal funding for the building of the National Aboriginal Art Gallery (now ATSIAGA) on the carpark at Anzac Hill. Like many, Scrymgour thinks the gallery should be built south of the Gap, possibly at the Desert Knowledge precinct.

It looks like this project will continue to be the enigma, the political hot potato and the embarrassment it has been for eight long years.

And I was intrigued by the Arts Minister’s phrase justifying the Darwin gallery rethink – “restoring the Territory’s lifestyle”. For the NT Government’s Minister for Tourism seemed to define “Territory lifestyle”, when he touted the Northern Territory as “a go-to destination for major events such as the four huge events that took place over the over the King’s Birthday long weekend, including the Tatts Finke Desert Race, Barunga Festival, Darwin GlNTi Festival (a two-day extravaganza of Greek and Cypriot food, dancing, music and plate-smashing filling, and the Beer Can Regatta”.

Not much space for art!