Greater Shepparton City Council is excited to announce that the new SAM building was completed on 22 January 2021, with a certificate of occupancy issued on 2 February 2021.
With the keys handed to Council, this gives the green light for tenants, SAM Limited, Kaiela Arts and the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre, to commence moving in.
"We've all watched the new SAM building take shape with great anticipation over the past 18 months and finally moving day is here!" said Greater Shepparton Mayor, Cr Kim O'Keeffe. "The new SAM building is already iconic, and we are looking forward to inviting in the community and visitors to make the most of all the experiences that will be on offer. It's been compelling to see how the design has transformed into this unique, grand building, but just wait to see what will be on offer inside!"
SAM, Kaiela Arts and the Visitor Centre will commence transitioning to the new site from March 1. It is anticipated that the new SAM building will open its doors to welcome visitors as of March 31, with Kaiela Arts and the Visitor Centre likely to be fully operational at that time, along with the SAM gift shop. While the ground floor will be open to the public in late March, levels one to four will remain closed until closer to the Opening Launch in October to enable SAM to complete the installation of its collection and upcoming exhibition program.
"Our artists have missed being able to make work for some weeks while we've been packing and are eagerly waiting to work in their studio space overlooking the lake, on Country", explains Kaiela Arts Manager, Angie Russi. "We're very excited to open doors in our new space to welcome people to our new home."
"The SAM team is excited to commence the move to new SAM from 1 March", explains SAM CEO and Artistic Director Dr Rebecca Coates. "The collection is comprised of 4,000+ unique and priceless artworks which will be carefully relocated to the purpose-built facilities over the next few months. Moving an entire museum including its collection is a major operation, as is setting up the opening exhibitions and projects once the artworks arrive at their new home. We are very much looking forward to reopening in our new spaces to share collections and exciting new exhibitions with our community and visitors. It will definitely be well worth the wait!"
