‘We don’t want to be too stuffy’: New Powerhouse boss on what we can expect

Among the 500,000 objects in the collection of the Powerhouse museum, its new trust president nominates a shopping arcade sign as his favourite.

Business leader, and former Labor roads minister, David Borger, has the job of delivering the largest cultural infrastructure project in Australia since the Sydney Opera House.

Powerhouse president, David Borger, says there is a lot riding on the opening of the Parramatta museum.Credit: James Brickwood

All of that will be during an election campaign year, smack bang in the middle of one of the most marginal seats in NSW.

“I’d be derelict in my duty if I didn’t feel pressure because there’s a lot riding on the opening of this museum,” Borger says.

The electric neon sign to which he shares an emotional attachment once belonged to a mall he’d take his mum.

Representative of the 1980s commercial retail development in Parramatta CBD – much of it flattened in a local building boom – it will be hung in one of the museum’s opening exhibitions showcasing the psychology of the shopping mall.

“Mum had a mental illness,” Borger says. “She would be in Cumberland Hospital every three years, and we would come for a cup of tea in the Parramall cafe.

“Now that sign from that little old shopping centre is going to be a part of something bigger. It’s remnant of a place that’s probably changed more than Dubai.”

Born and bred nearby to Parramatta, Borger has been a longtime critic of the lop-sided distribution of cultural investment to city museums and galleries. He was, therefore, an obvious choice to step into the shoes of former Coalition arts minister Peter Collins to lead the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences trust from January 1.

The trust has oversight of a $300 million revamp of the shuttered Ultimo campus, as well as the museum’s new $915 million Parramatta headquarters, the region’s first state-run cultural institution due to open in 2026.

On the Parramatta riverside, more than 70 per cent of its 1300 pieces of exterior structure of the building are in place.

Inside the concierge room of the Powerhouse where visitors will be welcomed. Credit: James Brickwood

Installation of doors in the largest of the presentation spaces is underway where visitors will marvel at large objects showcasing the history of air travel and space exploration and First Nations stargazing. Visitors will spill out to a northern terrace.

The museum will serve a region home to one-eighth of NSW’s population, one in five of whom are under 15 years, and half born outside Australia. For many, it will be the first time they step into a museum.

“We’ve got to be a bit unpretentious here,” Borger says. “We don’t want to be too stuffy and conservative; we have to be welcoming. We have to deliver a great experience when someone walks in the door for the first time, something that knocks their socks off.”

Suzette Meade, who led protests against the demolition of the historic villa, Willow Grove, which made way for the Powerhouse, questions spending on authors, chefs and photographers appointed as museum associates alongside professional curators and conservators.

She is looking for the trust, led by Borger, to focus on delivering what was promised to the families of western Sydney – a museum of science and technology to rival the Smithsonian, as well as celebrating Parramatta’s rich cultural heritage.

Borger is promising dedicated family exhibitions, with the interests of families and children embedded in many of its offerings.

He is “unapologetic” about finding new ways to present the collection. Nor should the public mind, he says, if weddings share presentation floor space.

“The hope is that there’s some great experiences here and some revenue generating opportunities that can go to help with the operational costs.

“We need to make sure that people come back for multiple visits, that they feel a connection to the museum because quite frankly a lot of people haven’t felt close to their museums for a long time. They’ve lived so far away from them, it’s been hard to get to them.”

Borger’s first challenge is meeting the government’s $75 million goal for private donations for building costs.

Some $53 million has been raised for capital works over three years, $27 million short of its target. The museum is without a campaign director.

Borger says there was a pipeline of prospective donors to the museum with “real weight” and was confident of “closing the gap”. Should he fall short, the bill will be picked up by taxpayers.

To rumours of overruns in fitout and program, Borger concedes budgets can move.

“I’m confident we will deliver an amazing series of exhibitions within the money that has been given to us,” he said, adding:

“I think some people frankly don’t believe western Sydney could host a tier-one cultural institution. There’s some who still don’t. We’re going to prove them wrong.”

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