South Australian Government puts new Adelaide Gallery on hold

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has put plans to build a contemporary art gallery and Indigenous cultural centre on the site of the Royal Adelaide Hospital on hold in order to negotiate with key cultural institutions about what form it should take.

The Liberal Party went to the March election promising to develop a national Aboriginal art and culture gallery, a point of difference to the Labor Party's promise to build a contemporary art gallery.

The Aboriginal gallery had been promoted by the SA Museum, while the contemporary gallery proposal had been promoted by the Art Gallery of South Australia, under its former Director Nick Mitzevich.

Asked about his plans today, Premier Marshall left both options open, advising theABC “we are pressing the pause button.

"What we want to do is to work with the two major collections and Tandanya to work out what we can envisage for this site.

"I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to all work together to come up with something which is unique, is iconic and is going to drive interstate and overseas visitors to South Australia to see our incredible, magnificent collections."

Premier Marshall likened the discussions between the gallery and museum to the delicate negotiations between cricket and football codes prior to the redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval, adding “people thought that there's just no way in the world that cricket and football were ever going to get along - well guess what, they have."

A design competition commissioned by the former South Australian Government has produced six different concept designs for a contemporary gallery.

Premier Marshall said an independent jury had met and decided on a preferred design, but it had not yet been communicated the decision to the South Australian Government.

The South Australian Government has also advised that part of the Royal Adelaide Hospital site will be transformed into an innovation hub for entrepreneurs by Christmas, under a plan to accelerate the return of people to the North Terrace precinct.

It has also pledged to spend $60 million establishing an international culinary school on the former hospital site.

Images: The Royal Adelaide Hospital site by night (top) and design for a new contempory art gallert submitted by Bjarke Ingels Group and JPE Design Studio (below, courtesy of BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group and JPE Design Studio/Malcolm Reading Consultants)

12th May 2018 - SHORTLISTED DESIGNS REVEALED FOR NEW ‘CULTURAL LANDMARK’ ON FORMER ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL SITE 

2nd March 2018 - LABOR AND LIBERALS MAKE TOURISM FUNDING COMMITMENTS AHEAD OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ELECTION

8th January 2018 - PLANS REVEALED FOR MAJOR UPGRADE OF ADELAIDE’S MEMORIAL DRIVE TENNIS CENTRE 

19th December 2017 - TOP GLOBAL ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICES SHORTLISTED FOR ADELAIDE CONTEMPORARY COMPETITION

13th October 2017 - EXPANDING ADELAIDE BOTANIC GARDEN SHRUGS OFF DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES

19th September 2017 - NEW GALLERY TO SHOWCASE MODERN ART ON FORMER ADELAIDE HOSPITAL SITE

5th November 2016 - OLD ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL REDEVELOPMENT TO INCLUDE CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY

1st November 2016 - OLD ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL SITE TO BECOME CULTURE AND TOURISM HUB

30th June 2016 - HELPMANN AWARDS TO HONOUR MICHAEL LYNCH

27th November 2013 - STUDY REVEALS THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC ART MUSEUMS

11th June 2013 - MUSEUMS DRIVE ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION 

17th March 2013 - ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA TRIPLES RETURN ON INVESTMENT 

15th June 2010 - MITZEVICH APPOINTED ART GALLERY SA’S YOUNGEST DIRECTOR 

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MAY 12, 2018
ARTS / ATTRACTIONS / CULTURE / DESIGN / TOURISM

Concept designs for a new arts and cultural centre on the former hospital site on Adelaide’s North Terrace have gone on display at the Art Gallery of South Australia.