Chloe Searle hopes showcasing past generosity to the Forrester Gallery will encourage more of the same to secure its future.

The gallery is facing significant costs to carry out a planned extension of its 1884 Oamaru stone, former Bank of New South Wales, building.

The building work is part of the Waitaki District Council-approved Cultural Facilities Development Project, but up to $8 million needs to be raised externally in order for the construction work to go ahead, gallery director Chloe Searle said.

The almost complete Waitaki Museum & Archive building is also part of the development project.

The council contributed a $1.5 million loan to the earlier project stages, and there has been funding from Otago Community Trust, Lottery Significant Projects Fund, the Stout Trust, the Christie Trust and bequests to the museum.

“The $7-8 million target is for this final stage at the Forrester Gallery, so we have only started this final push, with about $50,000 raised and lots of plans for fundraising getting ready for next year,” she said.

The new exhibition, aptly named Extending the Forrester Gallery, is being held in the former bank vault space, and tells the story of some of the generous acts which have shaped the art collection and the gallery itself.

It includes art from collections of works by Burns Pollock, Colin McCahon, Edward Gifford, and Evelyn Page, and each of the works has “an amazing story of giving behind it”, Chloe said.

“We will be doing a lot of fundraising next year, and in this show I wanted to honour some of those who have given to the Forrester Gallery in the past and to inspire our community to continue this impressive legacy.

“It is really timely to look at how the community has supported and shaped the gallery in the past.” 

One example is the story of how the gallery was gifted a significant collection of works by Colin McCahon.

The artist’s late brother-in-law Noel Parsloe had been impressed by the gallery's annual Burns Memorial Children’s Art Exhibition, and the attention it gave to children’s creativity. This influenced his family’s choice to donate the McCahon works to the Forrester, which now holds them in memory of Mr Parsloe and his wife Beatrice, who was McCahon’s sister. 

McCahon had connections to this area, having attended Waitaki Boys’ High School. 

A substantial bequest from former Waitaki Girls’ High School teacher Ivy Pollard, who died in 1984, and enabled the purchase of more than 100 artworks for the gallery was another “inspiring” story, Chloe said.

“I know our community continues to support so many causes that make our district a great place to be. I am looking forward to talking with people and businesses about how they might contribute to this exciting project.”

The aim was to open the extension in 2025. The new spaces were for education, storage for art works, and more exhibitions. A “much-needed” elevator was also part of the project.