World’s best to design new Hamilton Gallery

Southern Grampians Shire Council has signed a partnership agreement with the prestigious Melbourne University School of Design to advise on the new Hamilton Gallery project. This will see some of Australia’s best architects come together to advise on the project to ensure the creation of an iconic, nationally significant building, and is the next step towards developing a design brief for tender. The Melbourne Design School partners with major cultural institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria, Museums Victoria and ACMI and are currently working on international projects such as Woven City Tokyo and the new Melbourne Arts Precinct, MAP-co. The key advisors will include Dr Rory Hyde, Associate Professor in Architecture, Curatorial Design and Practice, and former Curator of Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, and former Advisor to the Mayor of London.

Dr Hyde believes the new Hamilton Gallery has the potential to be a regional leader with National significance. “We see this project as an opportunity for Hamilton to be a national leader in regional art galleries where council will have the chance to create something which is truly exciting, inclusive and ambitious.” Southern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Councillor David Robertson (pictured) said the new gallery and larger scale CBD project will rejuvenate cultural opportunities and enhance the civic life of the town by creating something unique for locals and visitors. “It’s really special to have such high calibre experts advising on this project,” Cr Robertson said. “This partnership will guide us in developing a new gallery that will allow us to host nationally and internationally significant exhibitions, provide viewing and interactive opportunities for the entire Southern Grampians Community, as well as providing appropriate storage for our collection of over 9000 objects.” Cr Robertson said the creation of the design brief is one of the most important stages in a project’s inception. “This piece of work is crucial in ensuring the new building matches the quality and importance of our incredible collection. The design brief sets the agenda for years ahead, through design, construction and operation.” Council voted to build a new Hamilton Gallery on its current location as part of a broader CBD Revitalisation project at the November 2022 council meeting.