Arts Hub Debate

Community Wellbeing - Culture and Heritage

Option 1

Residents supporting Option 1 argue that existing facilities like the Suter and NCMA already fulfill the role of arts hubs, making additional investment unnecessary. Some suggest integrating arts functions into the new library building as a more efficient use of resources. Others propose refurbishing the old Refinery Building to serve as a community arts hub, emphasizing the importance of preserving heritage and providing equitable access to arts spaces for marginalized communities.

Table of comments:

Point No	Comment
75.8	It seems a luxury to have this at a time of austerity. Nelson has an arts hub in the form of the Suter, and the NCMA....the availability of plenty of buildings to lease means there should be n need to buy a building
472.8	Retain our current approach and include it in the new library building in the future
1040.6	The proposed cost of the purchase of a new building and establishing an arts hub coupled with the cost to demolish the old Refinery Building on Hardy street should be used in combination to bring that Heritage building back into service and use it to provide an actual community space - the Arts Hub has lost the word community and it is a huge omission. While I have full support for Arts Council and the work they do both in advocacy but also as a Gallery and Office spaces for other arts entities there is the dire need for a more permanent solution to enabling a more socially equitable solution to space requirements for our marginalised communities>Community Art Works provides both a supportive and consistent service to peoples with diverse needs and who are in supported housing or require significant care, they also provide outreach and in house programmes for Rangitahi / Youth, Multi-cultural communities as well individual arts practitioners and groups who access the space and resources for projects that generally are of benefit to the Whakatū / Nelson Community.In describing itself as a vibrant creative city there are often image used which include masks, materials or circo-arts additions to events that originate from the CAW space. Council is right to look to the benefits that arts provides to the community / city as a whole but this is not wholly economic in the sense of generating money - but in the social benefit of creativity being something that is supported and enabled for all to achieve, and have access to.Council risks spending vast amounts of money on more strategy documents and provisioning a 'hub' while ignoring the potential for existing spaces to be utllised - there is huge potential for multiple groups to successfully collaborate through the old Refinery Building which is still central (the CBD being only a few blocks anyway), its proximity to the beautiful natural amenity of the River and estuary will draw interest along the River reserve and bring more diverse groups to use this under appreciated area
1225.8	I Support Option 1 – notwithstanding the slanted negative summary set out thereinMy Comments include:- In the past two decades Council has effectively taken over (and under-written) the loss making Nelson School of Music (NMAC), Repertory Theatre, and Suter Gallery; and all have now come to expect substantial annual funding;- Council has built multi million dollar centres such as Greenmeadows and Trafalgar Centre extensions with little or no consideration as to how what is called “the arts community” could participate in the same.- There has been no truly independent report on “what is sought” or “why is the existing insufficient”: nor as to what ongoing annual contribution to running costs would be expected to be funded by Council- All reports on what was suggested should be in a new Library building included much in the way of public facilities – possibly in the nature of Arts Hub - and things that would be in competition with nearby rate paying businesses