Mudgee locals and visitors will soon have a dedicated arts precinct which will form the cultural heart of the Mid-Western Region, with Member for the Dubbo Electorate Dugald Saunders today announcing an additional $1.5 million to deliver the project.
Mr Saunders said the $8.1 million Mudgee Cultural Precinct will link the Lawson Park Sculpture Walk to the Mid-Western Region Arts and Cultural Centre, with funding to help pay for the construction of a new state-of-the-art Artists Workshop centre including five workshop spaces, indoor and outdoor classrooms, amenities, a footpath and parking.
“The Mudgee Cultural Precinct will become the dedicated home of the arts in the region, providing workspaces to accommodate the ongoing development of artists and a space to host visiting artists and exhibitions, while also attracting new jobs and investment to the region through the construction phase and beyond,” Mr Saunders said.
“The indoor and outdoor classrooms and accompanying parking will allow council to host workshops and events from artists travelling to Mudgee, boosting our local economy by encouraging more visitors to travel to the region and actively supporting arts and cultural development in the community.
“Today’s funding announcement means Mudgee’s 25,000 residents and 655,000 annual visitors will now have a cultural hub to express their creativity in a fantastic new space that’s open for the whole community to enjoy. I thank the team at Mid-Western Regional Council for their commitment to this project.
The funding announced today is in addition to $2.3 million committed in early 2019 under the NSW Government’s Regional Cultural Fund, which was matched by Mid-Western Regional Council to construct and fit out the regional gallery. The Commonwealth Government also contributed $1.5 million through the Building Better Regions Fund.
“Council is delighted to receive an additional $1.5 million from the NSW Government to support the development of the new gallery and cultural precinct,” Mayor of the Mid-Western Regional Council Des Kennedy said.
“Site preparation works have commenced and we anticipate, all being well, the gallery will be open to the public by the middle of next year, with the entire project set to be completed by the end of 2021. There was a great community desire for a gallery, which ranked as the fifth most important major project to residents of the Mid-Western Region surveyed in 2016.
“It is exciting to see this facility finally come to fruition and I thank Dugald Saunders and the state government for their ongoing commitment to this project.”