The Eastern Bay Energy Trust has added its support to Whakatāne’s new Library and Exhibition Centre. EBET has approved $120,000 towards electrical, lighting, air conditioning and specialist exhibition lighting in the new facility, currently under development on the Esplanade Mall.
Whakatāne District Mayor Tony Bonne says the financial contribution is gratefully received and will relieve long-identified problems for library users and will also contribute to some of the special requirements of a museum display space.
Arts and Culture Manager Wayne Marriott also welcomed the grant saying, “this, and future, summers will be a lot more comfortable for visitors to the library and we can at last create a space with the optimum temperature and humidity for objects on display in the museum and changing galleries.”
“Being able to maintain and prove a museum-standard of 21 degrees Celsius and 55 per cent humidity within the gallery space will enable us, in time, to borrow local objects for exhibition from other institutions such as Te Papa and Auckland War Memorial Museum, so the contribution from the Energy Trust has an enduring benefit for the community,” he adds
The funding support from Eastern Bay Energy Trust is the latest in a series of grants to the project. Recently the Sir John Logan Campbell Residuary Trust announced a $5,000 donation towards the content of the opening exhibitions.
In March, Bay Trust announced $250,000 (towards the capital development of the Library and Exhibition Centre) and The Lottery Environment and Heritage Fund granted $363,000 (towards security and temperature and humidity controls for collection items on exhibition). $2,500 has been received from the Eric Bridgman Trust (towards the digitisation of images from the Dr Allan North Collection). Previously, the Lotteries Environment and Heritage Fund announced $238,471 (for shelving and the re-packing of the museum collection into approved conservation materials). For more information please contact Arts & Culture Manager Wayne Marriott on 07 306 0500.