Design work for the long-awaited Canberra Theatre Centre upgrades will be funded in the upcoming ACT budget, marking the next step in the process to build a new theatre for the capital.
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Gorman House, the former hostel turned arts centre, will also be upgraded in time for its centenary in 2024 and the old Nolan gallery at Lanyon Homestead will be converted into office space as part of work to maintain the heritage site.
Arts Minister Tara Cheyne said the theatre redevelopment work was a major focus for this year's territory budget and showed the government was delivering on its commitments for enhancing the cultural offerings in the city.
"The design work is a lot of that heavy lifting work. I appreciate people want to see a shovel in the soil, but I think getting that design work right makes everything flow from there," Ms Cheyne said.
"The effort we're putting in now - and we've got this certainty of funding over the next few years to develop this, getting this right - the sooner we get this right, the sooner we'll be able to get to opening night."
Ms Cheyne said it was still between four and five years before the curtains would rise on the first show in the new theatre.
The budget will earmark $28.44 million for design and consultation work as part of the overhaul of the Canberra Theatre Centre and Civic Square.
The existing theatre will also receive $2.39 million to fund health and safety upgrades and provide enough resourcing to deliver the expanded theatre precinct.
"A new theatre - and an expanded theatre - will mean we'll be able to deliver some of those blockbuster projects, for lack of a better word: stage shows and so on, that I think some Canberrans have rightly been asking, 'Why have we been missing out on that?'" Ms Cheyne said.
The Arts Minister said an expanded theatre precinct would help guarantee Canberra's place as a centre to attract regional tourism to cultural events in the capital.
"We do recognise Canberrans' appetite, I suppose, for arts and culture and that we've got incredible participation here but that only serves to make us a destination for broader participation and to really have a regional focus in bringing tourism here," she said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr in 2021 said the new 2000-seat theatre could be built as part of a wider arts precinct, including apartments, shops and a hotel, under an expanded vision for the project.
Heritage upgrades at Gorman House funding in this year's budget will cost $7.9 million, the government said, and include upgrades to access, safety and energy efficiency.
Safety and other upgrades will be completed at Lanyon Homestead, south of Canberra, where the former Nolan Gallery will be turned into an office space for the territory's Historic Places staff.
The gallery, which was opened by Nolan in 1980, was home to a collection of paintings the renowned artist donated to Australia. The collection was moved to the Canberra Museum and Gallery against the wishes of Nolan's widow, Lady Mary Nolan, following concerns the Lanyon gallery was not suitable to hold the collection.
The homestead will also undergo revitalisation and safety works, with the former Nolan Gallery to be converted into administration space, providing a modern, safe, and comfortable workspace for ACT Historic Places staff, while respecting the unique heritage values of the precinct.
Work will also be undertaken to remove and replace trees nearing the end of their lifespan, helping to enhance the visitor experience and preserve the heritage values of the Lanyon landscape.
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The theatre design funding announcement followed the release of the government's new funding model for ACT arts organisations and an updated arts policy. The new funding system - which offers three streams for different types of organisations - will be boosted by a 10 per cent increase in overall funding to $7.9 million a year.
The government has also released an 82-point arts capital action plan, which includes expanding arts events, improved ticketing systems, and enhancing partnerships with the national cultural institutions.
Ms Cheyne, who released a broad "statement of ambition" for the ACT's arts sector in September last year, said it was achievable for Canberra to be recognised as Australia's arts capital, and the new funding arrangements would provide a path to this goal.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
