LEVERAGING SUPPORT

Since its earliest days, the Foundation Arts grants have been focused on investing in key capital projects that build Australia’s arts infrastructure and support our world-class galleries and artistic companies.

Sir Ian Potter was an important supporter for the proposed new National Gallery and Cultural Centre in Melbourne in the late 1950s, joining the building committee that was tasked with raising funds and overseeing the planning and building process of what was to become the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and the Arts Centre. In fact, the Foundation’s first Arts grant was £5,000 to the National Art Gallery and Cultural Centre Building Committee, which would become known as the Victorian Arts Centre Trust.

Continuing Sir Ian's legacy, the Foundation Governors maintain that the arts are vital to cultural expression. Through major strategic grants, the Governors see the Foundation as a leader in offering philanthropic support for our enduring cultural institutions. Many projects that have received funding from the Foundation are large in scale, in many cases requiring investment from government, philanthropy and the wider community. One of the Foundation’s funding principles is to leverage further funding. By often being the first philanthropic donor to ‘take the risk’, the Foundation hopes to encourage other funders to commit to significant capital projects.

Deciding which projects to lend this crucial support is closely considered by the Foundation’s Governors. While the grants being awarded contribute to building costs, the intent is to fund projects that will continue to have an impact into the future. Within the arts sector, this support is directed to organisations that aspire to being world-class, attracting the best art, artists and performers whether local or international.

The importance of leverage is illustrated in the story behind the Foundation’s 2001 grant of $15 million to the NGV. In the 1990s, planning commenced for Melbourne’s Federation Square to include a gallery dedicated to Australian art. However, by 2000, this part of the project had not attracted the level of private investment needed and the new gallery was at risk of being greatly reduced within the development.

In 2001, the Foundation stepped in, awarding its largest grant to date to the NGV to assist in the construction of a building at the new Federation Square complex that would become Australia’s first major public gallery dedicated to Australian art.

In recognition of the importance of this grant –and of Sir Ian Potter and the Foundation’s support over so many years – the Victorian State Government and the NGV decided to name the new gallery, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. Since opening in 2002, the gallery’s exhibitions, education programs and collection displays have engaged over 36 million people.

Almost 20 years later, the Foundation again offered a foundational gift to the NGV of $20 million towards the construction of NGV Contemporary. This funding commitment from The Ian Potter Foundation was announced in December 2020 and is the largest grant ever awarded by the Foundation, surpassing the $15 million grant to the NGV in 2001.

With the Victorian Government’s commitment to invest $1.4 billion in the Melbourne Arts Precinct

Transformation, the Governors of the Foundation saw this $20 million grant as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute to enhancing the cultural landscape of Melbourne. Given the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic on the arts worldwide, investing in Australia’s largest ever cultural infrastructure project was also timely. Specifically, this foundational gift was intended to bolster NGV’s fundraising efforts to raise substantial additional philanthropic funds needed to complete the project. In March 2022, the Fox family confirmed its commitment of $100 million towards what is now known as The Fox: NGV Contemporary.

Nationally, the establishment of The Fox: NGV Contemporary presents a unique opportunity for the NGV to consolidate its position as a leader in design excellence. It will offer the largest and richest display of contemporary design in Australia, becoming an epicentre for the Australian contemporary art and design community and a destination drawcard for interstate and international tourists.

The Ian Potter Foundation also has a long and entwined history with The Australian Ballet. Founded in 1962, The Australian Ballet was started as a small company by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust – of which Sir Ian Potter was a director. Since the Foundation’s inception in 1964, over $10 million in grants have been awarded to The Australian Ballet.

In 2009, the Foundation committed $8 million split into two equal grants. The first $4 million went towards the refurbishment of the company’s headquarters at Southbank (now known as the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre) and to help it expand its successful education program. The second $4 million was released on a dollar-for-dollar basis to support the company’s operations, development and a new facility for the storage of sets and costumes.

Kenneth Watkins, Director of Philanthropy at The Australian Ballet explained at the time,“The promotional power of The Ian Potter Foundation’s grants … saw an escalation in gifts to the Ballet of 91 per cent. The Ian Potter Foundation’s generosity encouraged a greater number of major philanthropic gifts and an increase in the number and size of contributions to annual donations.”

In 2017, a further $1.5 million grant was awarded by the Foundation to The Australian Ballet to help ‘Raise The Roof’ of the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre, to create facilities appropriate for the company’s increasing dancer numbers and world-class artistic activities. The project included upgrading facilities for artists; dancer health, rehabilitation and fitness; and education and community engagement.

The third largest Arts grant ever awarded by the Foundation and the largest grant ever made by the Foundation to a Queensland-based organisation is $8 million to the Queensland Ballet.

In 2015, the Queensland Ballet approached the Foundation with a plan to expand and update its home at the Thomas Dixon Centre in Brisbane. At the time, the Ballet’s facilities were stretched to capacity and its plan was to undertake a major refurbishment including overhaul of four studios, creating two new studios, a dedicated dancer wellness centre and upgrading production facilities, wardrobe workroom and administration spaces. Its vision was to grow the company’s activities, accommodate a larger ensemble of dancers, expand dancer training programs and enhance community initiatives.

The Foundation’s Board approved an $8 million grant in support of the redevelopment of the Thomas Dixon Centre, effectively leveraging an initial matched grant from the Queensland State Government. This leadership inspired many other private donors to support Queensland Ballet’s fundraising effort. The initial grant from the Foundation was a catalyst to Queensland Ballet’s Three Sites: One Vision strategy, which includes re-development of the Thomas Dixon Centre, construction of the Queensland Ballet Academy and, in time, a Production Centre.

Since 1964, The Ian Potter Foundation has proudly supported major Australian institutions to establish significant arts infrastructure to provide high-quality venues and galleries that support a vibrant arts scene. In partnership with governments and private funders, The Ian Potter Foundation has demonstrated a capacity to leverage others to co-fund some of our country’s most impressive artistic establishments and creative environments. It is an essential investment to foster the creative sector and artistic endeavour that enriches the lives of all Australians – resulting in an enduring legacy.

In December 2020, The Ian Potter Foundation confirmed its support of the NGV’s vision for a new contemporary art museum, announcing a $20 million commitment towards the construction of NGV Contemporary.

It was the hope of the Foundation's Board that this $20 million grant commitment would provide the NGV with real momentum as it sought to complete an ambitious $200 million fundraising program in support of the project. The Foundation was thrilled to learn in March 2022 of the incredible $100 million gift from Lindsay Fox, AC, Paula Fox, AO and the Fox family in support of the construction of The Fox: NGV Contemporary.

Both donations form part of a $1.4 billion investment in the first stages of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation. The Ian Potter Foundation recognises the significant contribution by the Victorian Government in supporting Australia’s largest ever cultural infrastructure project, including funding for the construction of The Fox: NGV Contemporary, which will affirm Melbourne’s reputation as one of the world’s great art cities.

The National Gallery of Victoria’s iconic St Kilda Road building was officially opened in August 1968. This was followed by the opening of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Federation Square in December 2003. As Australia’s oldest, largest and most visited art museum, it seems timely for the NGV to be considering the addition of a purposebuilt contemporary art gallery that will allow it to display its vast collection of Australian contemporary artwork and design.

The location of The Fox: NGV Contemporary within the Southbank cultural triangle will add a globally significant contemporary art gallery to the established and significant institutions within it – the National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne, The Australian Ballet, Malthouse Theatre, the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, the Melbourne Recital Centre, Buxton Contemporary and the Victorian College of the Arts – cementing Melbourne’s arts precinct as a globally significant centre of artistic and cultural excellence.

The Governors of The Ian Potter Foundation regard the development of The Fox: NGV Contemporary to be of national and international significance. This is an ambitious undertaking, but the NGV’s impressive board and leadership team have shown great vision and we expect them to be successful.

Electing to support the development of The Fox: NGV Contemporary is consistent with the Foundation’s long history as a funder of the arts in Australia. For over 50 years, The Ian Potter Foundation has taken an active leadership role in supporting arts organisations seeking to raise the bar of aspiration and achievement in the sector. The Ian Potter Foundation is pleased once again to advocate for philanthropic involvement in our key cultural institutions.

——— Charles Goode, Chairman of The Ian Potter Foundation

A History of Grantmaking – The Arts