News Release – Special Patron

SPECIAL PATRON FOR FOUNDATION

The newly established Warrnambool Art Gallery Foundation is excited to announce that it has acquired a Special Patron, through the generosity of a well known local philanthropist.

Mr Geoff Handbury has shown his support for the aims of the Foundation by pledging to donate $250,000 from the Geoff and Helen Handbury Foundation over the next five years. Mr Handbury stated that he hoped his gift would encourage others to support the work of the Foundation.

On  receipt of the first instalment of the quarter of a million dollar gift, Mr David Jones, Chairman of the Foundation said, “We are extremely pleased that Geoff has chosen to develop a long term relationship with the Warrnambool Gallery. He has made similar commitments to the Horsham and Hamilton Art Galleries in recent years.  His generosity to these three regional galleries will greatly benefit future generations in Western Victoria.”

The donation is welcomed by the trustees of the Warrnambol Art Gallery Foundation as an endorsement of the aims of the Foundation. The Geoff and Helen Handbury Foundation will become a ‘Named Fund’ within the Foundation and will be acknowledged in perpetuity.

Mr Handbury requested that the earnings arising from his donation be used for the purchase of artworks for the permanent collection and also to support the education and outreach programs offered by the Gallery’s education officers. Warrnambool Art Gallery’s education program reaches approximately 3,200 pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary students annually in Government, Catholic and independent schools, from Portland, to Edenhope to Colac.