Auckland’s cultural institutions collaborate to deliver improvements

A significant milestone has been reached as Auckland's major cultural organisations join forces to tackle long-standing challenges and enhance collaboration.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum, MOTAT, and Stardome, each operate independently under different outdated laws. These individual arrangements have not encouraged collaboration within the sector or enabled Auckland Council to specify and monitor outcomes to make the most of available funding.

Deputy Mayor, Councillor Desley Simpson, who has led a political working group to come up with this solution, says agreement has now been reached on how to address these concerns.

"For years, the council has acknowledged our cultural institutions were set up to work separately and we invested significantly on reports and reviews to try and fix that," Cr Simpson says.

"Now, after a lot of time, effort, debate and discussion, we have delivered a way forward. Most importantly, we've found an approach that is supported by our wonderful cultural institutions themselves who have been an integral part of this journey."

The working group's two-stage solution will address issues identified in external reviews dating back to 2015. Previous discussions have not led to tangible changes to address these, until now. 

Phase one will focus on achieving better outcomes through collaboration, and a newly formed alliance will play a key role in this effort. The new alliance will bring together the Auckland War Memorial Museum, MOTAT, Stardome, and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, which owns and operates Auckland Art Gallery, the Maritime Museum and Auckland Zoo, to leverage shared resources and talent. This collaboration will lead to more efficient promotion and programming, coordinated advertising and marketing, and the ability to tell a culturally cohesive Auckland story.

Phase two will involve updating outdated laws to better support this collaboration and enhance outcomes relative to the council's funding.

Cr Simpson says she's pleased that all her fellow councillors have chosen to support a more sustainable and effective path forward for each of these key cultural institutions that are unique, valued and much loved.

The council's Governing Body unanimously agreed to progress the recommendations at its meeting on 26 September 2024. 

Read more about the recommendations here.

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