Opening nights and studio visits: How Melbourne’s richest art donors are cultivated

First the plan is to take them to a big show – something like Moulin Rouge or the Comedy Festival, then perhaps a tour of art studios or the council art collection, and finally a dinner invitation with the lord mayor to seal the deal.

Welcome to Melbourne City Council’s four-point plan to extract money from the city’s wealthiest philanthropists as the council scrambles to secure funding for the $22 million public artwork it commissioned for Southbank by New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai.

Confidential council documents obtained by The Age from 2023 show when the budgeted cost for the artwork snowballed and the council started work on a four-stage approach to securing donors: “Identify”, “Cultivate”, “Ask” and “Steward”.

Businesswoman and philanthropist Naomi Milgrom was first on the list of wealthy donors the City of Melbourne wanted to approach.Credit: Marie-Luise Skibbe

Wealthy donors have been offered exclusive experiences in a bid to get them to fund the artwork, including dinner with then-lord mayor Sally Capp, attending the opening night of the musical Moulin Rouge, and a visit to Parekowhai’s studio in Auckland.

The documents show the council has targeted Melbourne’s rich list – including Naomi Milgrom, the Gandels, the Smorgons and the Wheeltons – in a bid to plug a $5.9 million funding shortfall.

The artwork commissioned by the City in 2018 – the centrepiece of which is an eight-metre-tall bronze kangaroo wrapped in fairy lights – was initially budgeted to cost $2 million, and is yet to be finished.

The project costs have increased 11-fold, and it has now sprawled from the initial commission of Yesterday to four more “component works”: Tomorrow; Seal and Pleiades; Knowledge; and Intention.

Confidential council minutes in 2018 noted “any additional costs above the $2 million will be sourced from the private and philanthropic sector”.

The four-stage approach to secure donors included sharing the vision for the project, developing a “bespoke cultivation plan”, and “ongoing relationship management”.

Potential donors were to be wined and dined with opening-night tickets and exclusive experiences.

This included meeting Parekowhai with Capp; an invitation to attend the comedy festival with Capp and other councillors; a tour of level four of the council building, which houses its art collection, with Capp and other councillors; tickets to the launch of Rising festival with Capp and other councillors; an invitation to Moulin Rouge’s opening night with Capp and other councillors; and a tour of Parekowhai’s studio in Auckland with Capp and councillors.

The plan was for donors to finally attend a dinner with Capp to “secure commitment” before a memorandum of understanding was signed.

Number one on the council’s list of wealthy donors to target was Milgrom, owner of the Sportsgirl and Sussan retail chains, and already a donor to the City of Melbourne through her foundation’s architectural commission and arts program for the MPavilion every year.

Cast and audience celebrate the opening night of Moulin Rouge! the Musical in Melbourne. Tickets to opening night were a lure for potential donors. Credit: Sam Tabone

The council organised a meeting with Milgrom and Parekowhai in October 2021 and reported that she was “very excited about the vision of the project”. In July 2022 Capp met with Milgrom and “a number of ideas were discussed about how Naomi could support the project”.

However, Milgrom “supported the concept of the commission but was not in a position to donate towards it”.

Next up were rich-list family the Smorgons – who made their fortune from interests in property, meat, paper, chemicals, plastics, electronics and steel – via the Loti and Victor Smorgon foundation.

Council staff reported that the Smorgons were “initially interested”, but decided not to proceed with financial support and instead made a “significant donation” to the City of Melbourne’s homeless housing project Make Room.

Council staff met with Vedran Drakulic, chief executive of the Gandel family foundation, which represents John and Pauline Gandel, the $6.33 billion owners of half of Chadstone shopping centre.

Staff followed up with Drakulic several times, who advised that “Mr Gandel had been on an extensive holiday in Europe”. They noted Drakulic was likely to attend an upcoming Make Room media event and staff would “discuss Southbank with him then if no response”.

The Gandel foundation was invited to meet Parekowhai, but council staff reported “unfortunately there was no interest”.

John and Pauline Gandel were approached to fund the artwork. Credit: Jason South

Lisa Buxton, daughter of property developer and MAB co-founder Andrew Buxton, was also approached. The Buxton family donated the $16 million Buxton Contemporary gallery on Dodds Street in Southbank, along with $10 million worth of contemporary artwork.

Council staff met with Buxton and then presented to Buxton and her extended family via Zoom, offering an invitation to meet Parekowhai when he was next in Melbourne.

Following the presentation, Buxton’s philanthropic adviser “indicated that support for the project was not completely off the table, but the presentation did not make as great an impact as we would have hoped”, before declining to pledge any money.

Other prominent wealthy Melburnians targeted by the council were former Hawthorn Football Club president Ian Dicker; fashion retailers and property developers Michael and Helen Gannon; the Besen family, who co-founded Sussan; Natasha Bowness of private investment company the Wilbow Group; Francis Galbally, founder of Senetas; and advertising and media executive Harold Mitchell, who died earlier this year.

The rich-listers the council did have success with were Angela and Paul Wheelton, owners of Australia’s largest Budget Rent a Car franchise group, who pledged $1 million to the artwork.

“Paul had on a number of occasions indicated to the lord mayor a strong interest in public art and the need for more in the city,” council staff noted.

The Wheeltons agreed to try to garner more support for the artworks from residents of luxury apartments The Melburnian in Southbank.

“They indicated support for approaching the manager of The Melburnian to gain access to the residents … [who] be impacted and may be interested in the project given its proximity to the location of the artwork,” council staff noted.

However, the Wheeltons were worried about the tax implications of their donation, and council staff noted “legal advice is being sought relating to the donation mechanism which is key to their requirement of support”.

The council sought legal advice in August 2023 to allow the Melbourne Arts Trust to accept cash donations and commission artworks, enabling donors to claim tax deductions as the trust would have charity status.

Paul Wheelton told The Age it took about two years for the council to change the trust, which was longer than he would have liked.

“We come from a background of 10-pound poms and are self-made, so this is about coming up through the ranks and then educating yourself and your family and the next generation that, OK we have been successful, but you have to give back,” he said.

Wheelton said he had tried to assist in getting other donors on board, but the secrecy around the artwork made it difficult as potential donors were unable to see any sketches or concepts.

“Taking that approach, I’ve got to say, is very hard when you’re in a fundraising environment to say: ‘Put some money into this, but we can’t show you anything’,” he said. “I shouldn’t use the term arty-farty, but it does sound a bit arty-farty doesn’t it?”

Wheelton said he and his wife had received invitations to premieres and opening nights but were unable to attend due to health issues.

The City of Melbourne also specifically approached the property and development sector to fund the sculpture Tomorrow “due to their roles in developing the urban realm and creating engaged communities to benefit the lives of residents and their asset investments”.

Staff focused on developers located in the Southbank precinct, including Vince Giuliano from PDG; Len Warson from Glenvill Homes; Jiaheng Chan from Beulah; Landence Group; and Evolve Developments.

PDG “expressed interest in supporting Tomorrow” but were unable to commit and agreed to stay in touch and reassess.

Warson has collected one of Parekowhai’s artworks, and council staff said while he was “excited about the project he is not in a position at the moment to support financially”.

Councillor Jamal Hakim and council staff met with Beulah co-founder Jiaheng Chan in June 2023, who “expressed interest in being involved but wanted to understand more about their $5 million contribution to Southbank Boulevard and if this could be applied to the commission”.

Council advised that Beulah’s planning permit required the $5 million contribution to the Southbank Boulevard Upgrade project, and that amount would be required in full separate to any donation to the artwork.

Ashley Williams, founder of Evolve Developments, said he had been introduced at a “high level” to the project, but things did not progress further.

City of Melbourne staff also approached ANZ about potentially funding the artwork and sent a letter to chief executive Shayne Elliott.

A spokesman for the council said the Melbourne Art Trust deed was amended in February to allow fundraising donations towards specific City of Melbourne art projects.

“We’re delivering one of the biggest public art undertakings in the heart of Melbourne’s growing arts precinct,” he said. “It’s common practice to meet with a range of donors and establish external partnerships to deliver projects that strengthen our city.”

The Age contacted all the potential donors approached by the council. The Wheeltons and Williams were the only ones who agreed to comment.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.