Why closing the art libraries at Auckland University is a really big deal
Our forebears would no doubt be dismayed. Their efforts to establish a rich cultural expression in music, art, theatre and literature provided us with a privileged environment. 120 years later that legacy is in dire straits.
The original intention of Dr Elam was for a free public art school for the citizens of Auckland. It opened in 1889 with Mr Payton appointed as the first teaching master.
The actual words of the bequest make clear the intention was not for profit. The intention was to enrich the lives of individuals in the community.
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| NZH 29 June 1886 |
It was not the first such initiative. Dr Logan Campbell’s Free School of Art opened 2 November 1878 (NZH 31.12.1889). Dr Campbell closed his establishment in 1889 because the Elam School of Art was ready to open, thus ensuring the continued art education of the public.
Let’s be clear – the Elam bequest was no aberration. Those who established this city envisioned a rich cultural expression supported by shared values of equity. Commerce was the means supporting community – not the rationale for dismantling it.
The library that developed with the Elam School of Art now constitutes a resource of more than regional significance – there is no other like it in our part of the world.
Closing the Elam library and other arts libraries at University of Auckland is symptomatic of a wider pattern. We inherited institutions ensuring the arts were available to all. What have we built for those who come after? What are they to inherit from us?
