It operated from a pop-up venue on Devonport Rd before reopening its revamped space in November.
The project also included seismic strengthening, redeveloping the interior to upgrade gallery spaces, moving the education area and expanding the gift shop.
An artist’s impression of what Te Manawataki o Te Papa, Tauranga’s future civic precinct, will look like.
Outgoing gallery director Sonya Korohina said the gallery, cafe and retail store recorded just over 98,100 visits between its reopening and the end of the financial year in June.
That included about 64,500 through the cafe entrance to the building, and 33,600 through the gallery entrance.
Korohina said the counts were for the whole building, not art gallery visitors alone.
This is compared with about 20,700 visits while the gallery was operating from the pop-up site in the 2023/24 year. The last full year in the gallery’s original site, 2021/22, attracted about 27,800 visits.
Korohina said 18 to 30-year-olds had been the gallery’s largest visitor demographic over summer, despite traditionally being one of its harder audiences to attract.
She said the increase reflected more people returning to and working in the city centre.
Korohina said visitor numbers often depended on the programmes being shown.
Indigenous-focused programmes led to strong Māori engagement in the opening season.
Toi Tauranga Art Gallery director Sonya Korohina. Photo / Brydie Thompson
“It was really important for us that, for mana whenua and tangata whenua, it’s their place too.”
Tauranga City Council provided 70% of the gallery’s operating funding in the past financial year, or $1.43m.
Other key funders included the Western Bay of Plenty District Council (about $47,700); grants, entry fees and donations ($255,000); sponsors ($114,000). The retail store sales and cafe lease collected income of about $112,000.
The city council also funded 54.7% of the $9.65m redevelopment cost while 45.3%, or $4.37m, came from the Tauranga Art Gallery Trust, community grants and foundation contributions.
In the gallery’s annual report, chairwoman Rosemary Protheroe described the reopening as “extraordinary”.
She said the gallery produced a significant surplus but said it was largely because of one-off favourable entries linked to financing the redevelopment project.
Toi Tauranga Art Gallery director Sonya Korohina (left) and Tauranga Art Gallery Trust chairwoman Rosemary Protheroe. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell
She said normal operations recorded a small deficit because of reopening costs.
The gallery reported more than 12% growth in revenue from retail, cafe lease income, admission fees, sponsorships and patrons, and retail gross profit exceeded targets by 67%.
Māori artist publications and design products were among the strongest sellers.
The gallery is planning a major programme of exhibitions and events for its 20th anniversary next year, including revisiting one of its earliest exhibitions and celebrating Tauranga’s artistic history.
The gallery delivered 20 exhibitions featuring 45 artists and displayed 500 children’s portraits during the reopening programme.
Korohina said it was already benefiting from the wider Te Manawataki o Te Papa development and expected the benefits to grow when the library and museum were fully operating.
She said these would create further opportunities for school visits and educational programmes.
A report showed 1955 school students participated in education programmes and 185 children attended holiday programmes.
She said the cultural precinct would attract tourists, bring vibrancy to the city centre and generate economic benefits.
An artist’s impression of the civic whare, museum and exhibition centre. Image / Tauranga City Council
Korohina will leave the gallery at the end of next month after nine-and-a-half years on and off in various roles, including as a director since 2023.
She said working on the redevelopment project was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and when it was finished she “desperately needed a rest”.
“The gallery’s on a real high, so it’s a great time for me to step aside and a great time for someone new to come in.
“I’ve achieved everything I wanted to and now I’m just ready for a change.”
The library and community hub, He Puna Manawa, reached practical completion in July and the fit-out is underway.
It will close on Sunday to start its move from the temporary location on Devonport Rd before its scheduled reopening on October 16.
A community celebration day will be held on October 17, with the council saying there will be activities for all ages.
The museum, which will include a permanent exhibition space, two temporary exhibition galleries, a learning hub, discovery centre, cafe and museum shop, will open in 2028, with the civic whare – a public meeting house.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2023.