Art Gallery of NSW flags higher exhibition ticket prices amid budget crisis

The Art Gallery of NSW says it may need to introduce higher exhibition ticket prices on top of 51 jobs it needs to axe as it searches for millions of dollars in extra funding to cover its running costs.

Arts minister John Graham told parliament he “wouldn’t be comfortable” if the gallery reduced its opening days, while flagging for the first time he might be open to providing additional assistance to the 154-year-old institution: “I understand [reduced opening days is] not under discussion”.

Some 100 staff and supporters rallied on Wednesday in protest of proposed cuts to 10 per cent of the gallery’s workforce of 380 in a restructure designed to save it $7.5 million.

Gallery director Maud Page told budget estimates the gallery was considering the option of raising entry fees for ticketed exhibitions while “categorically” ruling out any change to free general admission.

Visitors to the recent Archibald Prize exhibition and Yolnu Power: The Art of Yirrkala at the gallery are currently charged $25 each, with tickets kept as low as possible to encourage public access. Ticket prices have been stable for about three years. Any increases to ticket prices would likely impact shows after its peak summer season.

Coalition assistant arts spokesperson, Jacqui Munro, said it was concerning that as a result of government funding cuts the gallery’s director was looking to increase exhibition entry prices in a cost of living crisis.

“The government’s cuts are making the arts less accessible at a time when we need them most.”

Graham also flagged at the parliamentary estimate hearing on Thursday that job cuts to the state funding agency Create NSW could also be walked back, predicting the agency will lose a “net seven” staff members following five weeks of consultations with unions and staff.

And he denied the Powerhouse Museum was receiving preferential funding treatment from government after the Herald disclosed the government had boosted the museum’s wages budget by $10 million while the art gallery was pressured to cut its workforce.

“Is the government favouring the Powerhouse and directing a lot more funds to the Powerhouse? No, that’s definitely not the case,” he said.

The Public Service Association has accused the Minns government of abandoning the gallery, and other parts of the sector, launching a public campaign under the banner of “Art Attack” with the face of Arts Minister John Graham superimposed on the Mona Lisa to highlight job cuts at the gallery and Create NSW, as well as funding cuts to regional galleries and the Australian Design Centre.

Hours before budget estimates, the government announced it had at least partially restored funding to some arts organisations that had missed out on four-year funding grants in April.

Regional organisations make up half the successful organisations of the two-year funding round, with 31 regional arts and cultural organisations securing an investment of $7.5 million over two years. This includes 10 regional art galleries funded with a combined investment of $1.8 million.

Thirteen organisations which previously had to apply for annual funding would now be shifted to the two-year funding rounds.

The Australian Design Centre at Darlinghurst lost $300,000 a year in the previous funding round. It was awarded $150,000 for each of the next two years. It still cannot rule out closure at the end of the year.

“Create NSW advised yesterday that ADC was successful and would receive $150,000 per annum over two years. While this funding is fantastic, and we are grateful to receive it, it is $150,000 per annum, short of what we currently receive and have been receiving for a decade,” its executive director Lisa Cahill said.

“This substantial reduction in funding combined with rising costs over the past decade, and the uncertainty it creates for our future, is unsustainable. It is effectively setting us up to fail, after successfully operating for 61 years.

“Potentially NSW will be the only state without a dedicated craft and design organisation. That means that the thousands of makers, designers and craftspeople we have supported will be left without a national platform, and audiences around Australia, where we currently take touring exhibitions, will not see their work.

“ADC will consider its future plans for 2026 and beyond in the coming weeks.”

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