Nearly $300,000 of artwork will be passed from VUWSA to the VUWSA Trust following a motion at last week’s exec meeting.
The motion was “that the VUWSA executive supports the transfer of the VUWSA Art Works to the VUWSA Trust and approves the Art Works Deed of Transfer to the VUWSA Trust”.
VUWSA currently owns three art works, Mana Island by Don Binney, New Zealanders at Fort Capuzzo by Peter McIntyre and Yellow Yantra by Wong Sing Tai, which Salient understands were gifted to the Association.
The Binney painting is currently on loan to the Adam Art Gallery, whilst the other two reside in the VUWSA office at Kelburn.
VUWSA Treasurer Alexander Neilson said at the meeting that the Binney painting is valued at around $285,000 while the other two have a combined value of around $10,000.
The casing of the Wong Sing Tai painting was ‘modified’ by Welfare Vice President Heleyni Pratley earlier this year with a black marker during a drunken wall-graffiti spree, but it is not know if this has devalued the artwork.
The transfer means the Trust will take over ownership and the responsibilities that go with it, including upkeep, insurance, repair and valuation, which means less burden on VUWSA to undertake these tasks.
The Deed sets terms that the artworks will be held in accordance with VUWSA obligations and used for the benefit of VUWSA members. A date for signing the Deed is yet to be set.