The major Bendigo Art Gallery gallery project enters next phase as the search begins for head contractor.
A significant redevelopment of the Bendigo Art Gallery is moving ahead, with the $45 million project now seeking a head contractor to take the regional institution into a new era.
Plans for the gallery’s expansion include the addition of a second-floor blockbuster exhibition space designed for major touring shows, a new learning centre, a theatrette, and a Traditional Owner Place of Keeping for Dja Dja Wurrung cultural materials.
Announced this week, an Expression of Interest is open for construction firms to lead the large-scale overhaul, which aims to address the gallery’s spatial constraints and support its growing reputation as a host of major international and Australian exhibitions.
Bendigo Art Gallery $45M development
- The two-stage project will build a second-floor blockbuster exhibition space, a new learning centre, a theatrette, and a space for Dja Dja Wurrung cultural materials
- Once complete, the upgraded facility will generate 170 ongoing roles
- The finished project will inject up to $35M annually into the local economy
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What will the Bendigo Art Gallery redevelopment deliver?
The project will be delivered in two stages.
Stage one includes a second-level blockbuster exhibition space, an innovative learning centre, theatre and Traditional Owner Place of Keeping for Dja Dja Wurrung cultural materials.
Subject to funding, stage two includes a dedicated gallery for Australian art and an elevated hospitality offering, featuring an improved café/restaurant incorporated into a redesigned sculpture annex and second-floor function facility and terrace.
Bendigo Art Gallery have poised the project as ‘a revolutionary transformation that will establish the Gallery as an international, world-class cultural facility for future generations.’
The project will deliver The People’s Gallery, ‘an empowering place for the Bendigo and broader Victorian community focused on accessibility, education, shared economic benefit and celebrating our Traditional Owners’.
Why develop in two stages?
Stage two is subject to securing a Federal Government grant of $15M. An application was made to the Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program in late 2024 and the Gallery and City are awaiting the outcome of the application.
Planned closure in November 2025
The Bendigo Art Gallery is expected to remain open until November this year while the procurement process takes place.
Construction is expected to start early 2026 and take approximately two years to complete, with the aim of re-opening in early 2028.
The redevelopment is being jointly funded by the Victorian Government ($21 million), City of Greater Bendigo ($9 million), Bendigo Art Gallery Board ($4 million), and philanthropic contributions totalling $9.35 million.
Modelling provided by the state government suggests the two-year construction phase will create around 260 jobs.
Once completed, the upgraded facility is projected to generate 170 ongoing roles and inject up to $35 million annually into the local economy.
The Bendigo Art Gallery, which has become a cornerstone of regional Victoria’s cultural calendar, has consistently drawn high attendance for exhibitions ranging from international fashion retrospectives to contemporary Australian visual art.
However, limitations on space and infrastructure have prompted the push for redevelopment.
Expressions of Interest for the head contractor role close on 30 June.
For more information go here.
