THE PROCESS of being sidelined from his job as director of Wanganui's Sarjeant Gallery has not been easy for Bill Milbank, but he says the restructure may yet have good results.
Mr Milbank is no longer director because the position was disestablished on January 31.
He has been employed as expert adviser to the gallery on contract, but said he was reluctant to talk about the details of the agreement.
He had been told his skills were still needed "at a high level" and that he would have time to provide them at a national level as well.
Sarjeant Gallery Support Group member Jodie Dalgleish said it was good that Mr Milbank's knowledge would not be lost because he was the one who knew most about the Sarjeant's collection.
Asked how the gallery would run without him and former curator Paul Rayner, Mr Milbank said he had great confidence in the ability of remaining staff to operate professionally and he was still "absolutely" there to support them.
Ms Dalgleish said she was still waiting to see how Sally Patrick would address the day to day management of the gallery, and whether a senior curator would be employed to assist.
Wanganui District Council's newly appointed cultural manager, Sally Patrick, said she would be working on staffing at the gallery when the council budget round was finished.
And the right time to honour Mr Milbank's contribution to council and gallery would come later.
Her top priority at present was to secure adequate funding for the museum, gallery and library.
It is the first time they have had a senior manager who is part of the council's executive office management team and able to fight for their funding.
Ms Patrick said that the museum and gallery had international profiles that would require an optimal but sustainable level of funding.
"I'll have my work cut out in the next year, determining exactly what that level is and how we are going to sustain it."
She didn't envisage any sudden changes at any of the institutions.
"My prime concern at the moment is stability for the staff and, of course, the Sarjeant's reputation locally, nationally and internationally."
Any changes to governance would not be done without a lot of talking to the people involved.
"The one thing I have learned over 36 or 37 years in local government is that if you want an enduring structure and you're working with change you take as much time as you can to talk to all of the people involved and engage them."
Her aim was to keep the activities of the gallery, museum and library constantly in the hearts and minds of Wanganui people.
Ms Patrick said she lived in Marton, had many family connections to Wanganui and had a long term commitment to its well-being.
She had "immense faith" that the "Heart of Wanganui" project would solve problems that had long plagued the museum, library and gallery.
The restructure had had painful moments but offered incredible long-term benefits, she said.
Mr Milbank was pleased the restructure had given the gallery, museum and library a senior manager on the council executive.
"It's something that has been sought by the directors and managers of the Queen's Park unit for some time."
Staff had tried to "build up the synergies" between their institutions, but prior to the restructure there had been constraints.
In the 1990s, for example, when the gallery received some money to initiate its extension, its staff went to council and said the spatial needs of the museum and library also needed addressing.
The result was the Queen's Park Accommodation Study, "which unfortunately wasn't embraced at that time".
"Individual units were forced to make their own way." The restructure would bring fresh opportunities, Mr Milbank said.
It appeared that the strengths of each part of the whole were going to be sustained, and that they would keep their uniqueness.
He was confident the Sarjeant would not be overlooked, either locally or nationally, and said his years there had been hugely rewarding.
"My passion for the gallery and its collections remains absolutely positive."
Good outcome still possible for Sarjeant, says Milbank
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