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Te Papa in Wellington - Source: Wiki Commons
The national museum is full to the gunwales and the bill to create extra space for the nation's treasures is expected to top $30 million.
Pressure on Te Papa's collection space and the possibility of some exhibits being stored outside Wellington was raised in the annual briefing to incoming Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Chris Finlayson.
"Te Papa's current storage facilities are at full capacity for some collections and approaching capacity for others," the briefing says.
"As a collecting institution, Te Papa needs to ensure that it has sufficient storage to safely house the collections."
Te Papa lists its "most pressured collections" as photography, textiles and art on paper, Pacific objects, rolled tapa and mats, and flat textiles, small and large sculpture, history, large furniture and large technology.
An upcoming planning project would assess storage needs and options. "As part of this work, increased public access to collections will be considered. Storage options outside of Wellington will also be explored to mitigate single site risk from natural disasters."
Te Papa's existing collection stores provide 10,500sqm of space. To store all the current collections in fully safe and accessible conditions would require 13,400sqm, the briefing says.
The approximate capital cost of providing adequate storage until 2030 is $33m.
Te Papa has been criticised by the art community, politicians and the public since it opened in 1998 for not displaying more of the 15,000 artworks in its collection.
In 2010, Te Papa chairman Sir Wira Gardiner said he supported the idea of a new display gallery, an idea raised by Te Papa board member Chris Parkin.
Mr Parkin said he wanted to see the national collection housed in the proposed "transition building" next to Te Papa.
The building was designed for Wellington City Council by Amsterdam-based UNStudios in 2005, but the council has said it is unlikely to go ahead until at least 2014. The estimated cost of a new building is $100m, which could be partly raised from private benefactors.
Wellington City Council arts portfolio leader Ray Ahipene-Mercer said it was important all options were explored, including the possibility of a new building on the waterfront.
"Yes, there would be significant expenditure involved - but we've been going around in circles now for a long, long time.
"This is an opportunity for people to examine it and see whether this new building is a goer.
"If items should be on display - if they are being compromised by this whole storage issue - then we need to look at how they can be."
Last year, a planning group for "Te Papa North" called for a new building to be built on Auckland's waterfront that would match the Wellington site for exhibition space.
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