Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery and its collection are a national treasure. Opened in 1919, the purpose-built Oamaru stone building was found to be earthquake-prone and no longer fit to house one of New Zealand’s most significant fine art collections.
The job to earthquake-strengthen and refurbish this stunning building was always going to be a big one and took years of engagement with the local community and national funders to raise the many millions required.
As a consultant with capital raising company, Giblin Group, Erin Harford-Wright was proud to play a part in the project, consulting to the Sarjeant Gallery Trust and Whanganui District Council on how to take the community on the journey.
Working with local iwi, gallery staff and the Sarjeant Gallery Trust, she wrote and coordinated the design of ‘For Love of Truth and Beauty’ – a book about the history of the gallery, its role in the arts and local community, the collection it housed and the proposed restoration project.
Erin led the stakeholder engagement programme, including developing a communications strategy, stakeholder presentations, collateral development, media management and corporate sponsorship proposals.
She developed a successful community event where participants decorated the pavement on the trail from the Sarjeant Gallery to the nearby temporary gallery, with hundreds of families and arts supporters decorating a star with chalk the weekend the temporary gallery opened.
This represented the collection moving from one gallery to another, raising awareness of the collection as a precious community taonga, and launched Whanganui District Council’s grassroots fundraising effort, the Thousand Stars programme, which sought regular donations toward the project.
