Introducing the TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre

From City Scene, published on 29 March, 2009.

Auckland City Council is pleased to announce a new relationship with TSB Bank as the naming rights sponsor of the TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre. The centre will be established in the Pah Homestead, which is being restored in Hillsborough's Monte Cecilia Park.

The TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre will be the future home of the $50 million James Wallace Arts Trust collection of contemporary New Zealand art. The collection will be on display free of charge - and the world-class visual arts centre may also include artistic residencies and function facilities.

Auckland city Mayor, Hon. John Banks says the partnership between the three organisations presents a compelling platform on which to build a long-term relationship for the benefit of Auckland's citizens and visitors alike.

"This collection is a truly magnificent contribution to Auckland, and arguably the most generous since Sir John Logan Campbell gifted Cornwall Park. We are committed to offering Auckland residents a visual arts programme they will be proud of and that visitors to our city can enjoy. We are certain this outstanding venue will do justice to this prestigious collection."

Established in 1850, TSB Bank is 100 per cent New Zealand owned and has a significant heritage. "The recent opening of new TSB Bank offices in central Auckland and Takapuna has highlighted the wonderful support we've received from the region's people over the years," says TSB Bank managing director Kevin Rimmington. "We wanted to say thank you for this support - and involvement with the Wallace Arts Centre seemed like the perfect way for us to do so."

"I'm fantastically excited," says James Wallace, founding trustee and director of the trust. "We have been looking for a permanent home for the collection for years."

TSB Bank is making a substantial contribution to the project, along with the James Wallace Arts Trust. The council unanimously voted last week to commit a further $6.7 million to the homestead, which it has been restoring since acquiring it in 2002 in a state of disrepair.

The Pah Homestead will be completely refurbished over the next year, with the new TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre ready to welcome the collection by mid-2010.

Mr Banks said bringing the collection to Pah Homestead made it possible to complete the restoration in the current economic climate, and he is quietly confident of raising more money and getting companies to sharpen their pencils to bring the cost down.