Be visionary— 
Fund something you can't see

Fund something you can’t see will ensure excellent long-term preservation of Geelong Gallery's marvellous collection and improve access to stored works for Gallery staff, external students, art historians and researchers. 

 Collection management and storage is not about the glamour of a new painting or a new building, but it is crucial to our future and the community we serve. 

Fund something you can’t see has been endorsed by government partner, Creative Partnerships Australia’s fund-matching scheme Plus1, which means that for every dollar raised through donations and private giving, Creative Partnerships Australia will match the amount up to $50,000. 

What are we going to do?

Geelong Gallery’s role as a leading cultural institution is to ensure community access to our great collection. Our recent and future programming has been designed to optimise our leadership position in the presentation and promotion of regionally and nationally significant visual arts. 

The core business of collection development and exhibitions must be supported by the highest contemporary standards of physical collection management and storage. Geelong Gallery has the space to publicly display only 3% of the 6,000 paintings, works on paper and objects in its care, resulting in a large percentage of the collection being stored. Now is the moment to address inefficient storage systems, increase storage capacity, and ensure our custodianship of the collection meets 21st century museum standards.  

What will change?

Geelong Gallery has occupied its current building since 1915, and over the past century, the subsequent additions and modifications to its structure have resulted in the collection storage facilities being inadequate and inefficiently configured, limiting access and reducing productivity. 

To address the limitations of the Gallery’s storage facilities and spatial arrangements, the reorganisation of storage will include the following overdue upgrades: the installation of 15 museum-grade painting racks, a vertical shelving system for framed works on paper (tills), improved shelving for decorative arts storage, a dedicated area for the processing of inward and outward collection movements which doubles as a viewing area, and a preparation table for the mounting of works on paper. 

This upgrade will increase painting storage by 25%, demonstrably improve access to the collection, and ensure the continuation and enhancement of best practice in collection and cultural heritage management. 

This key transformative upgrade will also initiate the reorganisation of the Gallery’s other back-of house collection space.

Why fund something you can’t see?

Key long term benefits for funding new storage include: 

1. Improved collection management and storage facilities; 

2. Reduction in need for offsite storage, reducing costs and improving accessibility; 

3. A dedicated condition reporting, photography, viewing and processing space will be gained; 

4. Improved mount cutting area for the preparation of works on paper for exhibition and long-term storage; 

5. Increased commercial operations potential for collection-based exhibitions developed for tour to regional and metropolitan venues with improved access to the collection; and 

6. 24-hour fire and security command enhancement. 

Support Geelong Gallery to be impactful through its four pillars— artistic and cultural advancement for the community; economic benefit to the region through events and exhibitions; the provision of learning for everyone; and the long term expansion of the Gallery spaces and facilities—through your support of Fund something you can’t see.

How can you help?

Watch our short video and consider whether you have the capacity to support this important Geelong Gallery project. Share our Pozible crowdfunding page with your friends and family. Donate today.

Donations over $2.00 made to Geelong Art Gallery Inc. are eligible for a tax deduction. Please retain a copy of your Tax Receipt for evidence of your tax-deductible donation.

Geelong Art Gallery Inc. is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) from 1 July 2000 and registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) from 3 December 2012.

Budget

The Fund something you can't see project has a budget of $110,000 as provided below.

• Supply, delivery and installation of painting racks   $100,397.00
• Lifting frame   $3,850.00
• Paint and patch (to prepare space)   $3,300.00
• Materials (hooks, labels etc)   $1,958.00
• Miscellaneous (materials)   $495.00
  
  

Pozible target

We are excited—this is our first ever Pozible campaign! Our Pozible target started at a modest $5,000 and we have been blown away with your support in the first 24 hours of the campaign. Our target has now stretched to assist us in meeting the overall project budget of $110,000. Help us achieve this goal in 4 weeks!

Remember, every dollar donated is matched by Creative Partnerships Australia.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Fund something you can't see thus far. We are humbled by the response and grateful for your support.