Revealed: How many have visited the redeveloped Sarjeant Gallery

Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery has significantly exceeded visitor predictions, welcoming more than 83,000 visitors since reopening.

The newly redeveloped Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery has smashed its initial visitor target.

Since reopening in November 2024, there have been more than 83,000 visitors to the Whanganui gallery.

A 2019 economic impact assessment report estimated visitor numbers would be around 65,000 for a full year.

“These new statistics are an amazing affirmation of what the gallery can achieve and just how busy we’ve been,” the gallery’s director Andrew Clifford said.

A survey of visitors found 42% were domestic tourists from outside the region and 12% were international tourists.

The tourists surveyed stayed an average of three nights in Whanganui.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said the gallery had solidified itself as a tourist destination.

“These numbers confirm what we’ve long believed.

“Our gallery is a national taonga [treasure], generating real cultural and economic value.

“The significant number of visitors speaks to the calibre of the gallery, the work that it holds and the experiences created around that.”

“The gallery further enhances and deepens Whanganui’s identity, which is grounded in our heritage, our creative spirit and the awa [the Whanganui River].”

The 2019 economic impact assessment, based on comparative studies of other New Zealand cultural institutions, found the redevelopment of the gallery would generate $11.4 million in new revenue for the region from accommodation, hospitality and other out-of-area visitor spending.

Applying that estimate based on the current visitor numbers equates to $17.6m.

A comprehensive economic impact assessment will be conducted once the gallery has been open for a full year.

“Media attention generated over the course of the redevelopment and the reopening, plus several prestigious design and architectural awards, positive reviews in technical and peer journals and positive word-of-mouth publicity, has made Whanganui and its new gallery a talking point nationally and internationally,” Clifford said.

The gallery’s awards include the John Hollings Seismic Resilience in Practice Award and both the Heritage Award and Public Architecture Award at the annual New Zealand Institute of Architects Western Branch Awards.

Clifford said support from the Whanganui community had enabled the success of the gallery over the last nine months.

“It has been exciting to see the facility function so well as a community space and we are proud of the ownership the community has taken.

“From the day it opened to the recent opening of the Pattillo Whanganui Arts Review to our upcoming celebrations for Puanga, the range of community engagement has been fantastic.”