recently celebrated its 10th anniversary<\/a> – is often criticised for its $5.6m annual running costs, but the report found it supported 153 full-time equivalent jobs and returned $2.70 for every council dollar invested in the gallery.<\/p>\nKnown for his experimental films and kinetic artworks, Len Lye gifted his work to New Plymouth on his death in 1980.<\/p>\n
The Len Lye Centre – famed for its shimmering stainless steel exterior was built for $13.5 million – from private and corporate donations and government grants.<\/p>\n
The Govett-Brewster Foundation and Len Lye Foundation commissioned report said the gallery had 79,000 visitors in 2024\/2025, nearly 22 percent of them from outside the district.<\/p>\n
Foundation chairperson Susan Hughes said the report illustrated the important role the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – Len Lye Centre played in the region’s tourism and wider economy.<\/p>\n
“Whether people are coming specifically to see an exhibition or add a gallery visit while they are in town for other events, concerts or holidays, it is a fundamental part of what puts New Plymouth and Taranaki on the map.<\/p>\n
“The gallery makes a significant and positive contribution to our economy – supporting local accommodation providers, hospitality and other businesses, generating $2.73 in GDP for every dollar of rates funding that it receives.”<\/p>\n
Critic not appeased<\/p>\n
![\"Murray](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4K2O6KD_Procure_250812_pic_Chong_pulled_up_jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nMurray Chong
\nPhoto: Te Korimako o Taranaki\/LDR\n<\/p>\n
Vocal critic of the Len Lye Centre, veteran councillor Murray Chong, wasn’t convinced.<\/p>\n
“So, the key spin word there is helping to boost, so that $13 million, that $13.7 million or whatever it was, isn’t directly from Len Lye. It’s saying it’s helping towards that.<\/p>\n
“People don’t just come to New Plymouth to see the Len Lye Centre. It’s one of many things. So you’ve got to be very careful about that.”<\/p>\n
According to the Berl report, since the Len Lye Centre opened as part of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in July 2015, the award-winning facility had welcomed more than 820,000 visitors to its exhibitions, cinema, educational programmes and community events.<\/p>\n
Chong also took issue with the visitor numbers.<\/p>\n
“A lot of it is people going to the movie theatre, which is nothing to do with art. Sometimes, I’ve been there for ski movies, that’s got nothing to do with art. It’s just a facility, but they class that as, you know, a visit to the centre.”<\/p>\n
Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki general manager destination Brylee Flutey welcomed the report saying the gallery strengthened the region’s position as a vibrant, must-visit destination for arts and culture.<\/p>\n
“The findings from this report highlights the significant economic impact the gallery has on Taranaki, helping to drive over $10.8 million in visitor spend per year and $16.4 million in direct economic impact, as it attracts visitors from across Aotearoa and internationally.<\/p>\n
“This impact ripples through our community, from accommodation and hospitality providers to local retailers, reinforcing the gallery’s vital role in supporting our visitor sector and driving cultural vibrancy for the region.”<\/p>\n
Flutey said the report, which included insights from tourism operators, accommodation and hospitality businesses, recognised the Govett Brewster Art Gallery – Len Lye Centre’s status as a unique anchor attraction.<\/p>\n
Local stakeholders described it as “cultural icon that differentiates New Plymouth from other destinations, enhances the visitor experience and stimulates investment in the surrounding precinct”, she said.<\/p>\n
Len Lye Centre fact file<\/p>\n
11.7 full-time equivalent employees
\n153 FTEs supported across Taranaki economy
\n$106,000 a week allocated to operations for 2025\/2026
\nEvery $1 in rates funding spent on gallery operations generates $2.73 in GDP for the wider region
\n$830,345 revenue generated in 2024\/2025 through entry charges, event and cinema tickets sales, retail sales, sponsorship, rent and grants
\n79,000 visitors in 2425, 22 percent from outside of Taranaki including 4 percent international visitors<\/p>\n
The report was funded by the Govett-Brewster Foundation and the Len Lye Foundation.<\/p>\n
Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero<\/a>, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth. Photo: The Len Lye Centre helps boost New Plymouth economy to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[48,138,47,219,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45],"class_list":["post-15445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-audio","tag-business","tag-current-affairs","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-podcasts","tag-public-radio","tag-radio-new-zealand","tag-rnz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}