The day began with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony,kicked off by a Welcome to Country with eight children,seven of whom were present for the 2019 groundbreaking ceremony.
Perrottet cut the ribbon watched by donors,notably the retired businessman Isaac Wakil,credited for making the keynote donation of $24 million,and Gretel Packer,as well as artists Tony Albert,Daniel Boyd and Taiwanese-American artist Lee Mingwei. Absent was the president of the Art Gallery Trust,David Gonski,who had spent seven years spearheading the project. He was felled by COVID two days ago and watched by video link.
Among those first in the queue was six-year-old Morgan Gately,whose ambition is to become an artist and win the Archibald portrait prize. “He’s been counting down the days to see the new museum,” his mother,Deana Bell,said. “He woke me up excitedly this morning.” The premier led Morgan in.
Perrottet,who as treasurer admitted to some scepticism of the expansion project in its early stages,said it was a historic moment for the state.
The extension opens without an Indigenous cultural name,which had been mooted for both Sydney Modern and the heritage building. Consultations are ongoing.
Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council says its board gave the AGNSW permission to use the Sydney Language dictionary from which to create a shortlist of culturally appropriate names nine months ago.