Redevelopment of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

Background Information

Redeveloping the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery will lead to the transformation of the visitor experience and the way in which the three layers of site, buildings and collections integrate to create a benchmark for museums in Australia and overseas.

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is a unique institution in Australia. No other institution is a combined museum, art gallery and State herbarium. The collection spans the arts, sciences, natural and social history. It is important nationally and internationally because of its distinctly Tasmanian focus.

The TMAG site includes some of the oldest heritage buildings in Australia and is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country.

The growth of TMAG’s unique collections and visitor numbers, combined with its location in the hub of the arts and cultural precinct on the Hobart waterfront, has underpinned the importance of TMAG to the Tasmanian community and the State’s cultural tourism industry.

In February 2006, the Government made a $30 million election commitment to the redevelopment of TMAG, in recognition of its importance to Tasmania’s cultural fabric as custodian of the State Collection.

The vision of the redevelopment is to create TMAG as a world-class intellectual and cultural icon befitting its history, collections and research.

It will build visitation to the site and the State through enhanced interpretation of the collections of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and increased access to internationally significant collections.