The Sargeson Centre, including George Fraser Gallery, on the edge of Albert Park will undergo restoration thanks to $700,000 from Auckland Council’s Fix and Finish fund allocated to Waitematā Local Board. It adds to the $670,000 of local board budget already assigned to the project.
Originally constructed in 1883 as Victorian stables, and later renovated into a gallery and studio flats for writers and visiting artists, the historic building will receive critical restoration and fire compliance upgrades. Works includes roof renewal as well as interior and exterior refurbishment at the site.
The gallery is currently run by Elam School of Fine Arts as an exhibition space for its students. Due to non-compliance with current fire safety regulations, the upstairs residential spaces are not currently in use. These works will ensure it can continue serving as a suitable and safe creative space for emerging artists and writers.
The Sargeson Centre restoration is a regionally significant project that will ensure the preservation of one of Auckland’s important historic buildings.
It will also allow head leaseholders, the Frank Sargeson Trust (an organisation dedicated to remembering Frank Sargeson, one of New Zealand’s most influential 20th century writers), to continue to foster artistic talent.
Successful preservation includes integrating the old with the new, allowing this historic building to evolve without erasing its heritage value.
This restoration work is one of thirteen local board projects across Auckland and Manukau that will be fixed or finished as part of the $20 million Fix and Finish funding boost championed by Mayor Wayne Brown through his Mayoral Proposal.
Read more about these projects and the Fix and Finish Fund.
History of the Sargeson Centre
The building was originally constructed in 1883 as Victorian stables, and Fletcher Construction renovated the stables in 1986.
They turned the ground floor into the George Fraser Gallery named after a friend of Sargeson, and Fletcher Construction executive who fundraised and advocated for the renovation. The upstairs was converted into a writer’s flat, where the first recipient of the Sargeson Fellowship moved in, and a second studio used by Auckland Art Gallery for visiting national and international artists.
It became a hub for literary and visual arts through writer-in-residence programmes and contemporary exhibitions, initially curated by Art Space and from 1993 to present by Elam School of Fine Arts.
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