Davy doesn’t think the public will notice dramatic changes, though they’ve “tried, in the choices that we’ve made, to increase our flexibility so that we’re staying with what art is doing and can continue to show all types of art in the best possible way.”
During its closure the gallery partnered with other institutions, such as the Dowse Art Museum, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the National Library. Davy says its future is in building those partnerships, platforming Māori and indigenous art with a dedicated programme, and fostering and celebrating women artists. A new neon sculpture by Auckland artist Sean Keer has been commissioned for the gallery’s previously unused sculpture terrace for next year.
“It’s that beautiful reminder that out of periods of unsettledness or destruction, beauty and positivity can come,” Davy says.