“AN EYESORE” is how this board of custodians has described unfinished works at the Armidale and Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place.
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The building skeleton, started in the late 1990s as a permanent gallery space, lies incomplete at the front of the property.
“It’s an eyesore, and we have made several applications for funding to finish it but we’ve not been successful,” board of custodians member Lorna Hague said.
Yesterday frustrated board members met with Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Leslie Williams to request that something be done.
The group estimates it would cost about $500,000 to finish the uncompleted building.
In addition, the board also hopes the state government will provide money to enclose another structure to the west of the main entry and to construct off-road parking.
According to centre director Daisy William, funding for the building so far had been provided by Arts NSW, however, “at least four” more applications for state money had been unsuccessful.
“THE BEST thing is that TAFE is willing to build it and [Armidale Dumaresq] Council is willing to do the car park at cost,” she said.
“We have development application approval … it’s all ready, it is all ready to be built.
“All we need is the F-U-N-D-S," Ms Hague said.
Besides its aesthetics, the incomplete building means the director struggles to fit art displays.
Currently there is a two-year waiting list for work to be displayed at the centre.
“Some exhibitions have to be paired, they can’t even have a whole exhibition because there is not enough space,” Dr William said.
Parking is also limited and spaces for cars on Kentucky Street also makes access difficult for those with limited mobility.
“If you are an elderly person and you are parked all the way down almost to the creek lands it is bad,” Ms Hague said.
The centre was opened in 1988 and showcases Northern Tablelands Indigenous artefacts and artistic work by Aboriginals from across Australia.
It also provides space for performing arts, learning and research.
Mr Marshall said he had been involved in seeking funds for the centre for the past 12 months and was “astounded” to learn how long the project had lain dormant.
“It is not exactly the best impression
and first impressions count,” Mr Marshall said.
The Northern Tablelands MP will continue to help the centre apply for money through other “funding buckets”.
A spokeswoman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Leslie Williams said he hoped to aid the centre in finding money.
“Aboriginal Affairs will support ACCKP as they work with a variety of different bodies and government agencies to secure funding for the centre,” she said.
