The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has received a donation of $100 million from trucking magnate Lindsay Fox and his wife Paula towards the construction of the new NGV Contemporary.
The winning design for the new landmark, by a team led by Candalepas Associates, was released in March following a national competition.
The new gallery will be built within a transformed Melbourne Arts Precinct and will include a 40-metre-high spherical hall at its centre. The NGV said it will provide “unparalleled exhibition and educational spaces, studios and scientific laboratories for conservation of artwork.”
The Fox family’s donation is the largest ever made to an Australian art museum by a living donor. It follows a $20 million donation made by the Ian Potter Foundation towards the establishment of a contemporary wing in 2020. The family has a longstanding history of supporting the gallery through contributions to many significant acquisitions over the years.
NGV director Tony Ellwood thanked the family for its philanthropic benchmark, which he described as hving a “real, tangible impact” on the state’s art sector.
Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said the NGV Contemporary will be one of the largest galleries dedicated to contemporary art in the world and a “global architectural icon.”
Pearson added said the Fox family’s “vision and generosity” will help to secure the state’s potential as the cultural capital into the future.
The prodigious sum has entitled the family to naming rights of the new wing, which will be dubbed “The Fox: NGV Contemporary”.
Although the project has not been fully costed, the wider Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is expected to cost $1.7 billion. The new gallery is expected to open in 2028.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
