National Cartoon Gallery: What now?

I learnt sometime last month that there was trouble afoot at the National Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour. And from the numerous phone calls I have been receiving since then, it seems that there is substance to the talk: the Gallery has closed down. However, there seems to be a great deal of uncertainty about what the future holds. Depending on who you talk to, there seem to be a variety of options and opinions for moving forward. Will it re-open? Has it closed for good? If it does re-open, can it remain viable? Will a new Board make a difference? What circumstances led to its closure? 

There is a link to a Gofundme page (here). Presently (as I type this) it has raised $3,855 of the goal aim of a modest $25,000 total. The website says that it's the National Cartoon Gallery that is raising the funds, although that still leads to a lot of further questions from me: If the money is raised -- and there may be no certainty that it will -- will it re-open? I imagine that it will take a lot more than a one-off public fund-raiser to keep the momentum going. Here, perhaps for future posterity, is what the website says:

"We need your help to save the National Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour.
"Opened in 1996, it remains the only gallery dedicated to the art of cartoons in Australia and one of only very few in the world. It is a truly unique cultural institution and a fun tourist attraction.
"The onslaught of Covid greatly impacted the Cartoon Gallery’s ability to operate and our financial outlook was grim. Seeing this coming, the Gallery’s staff worked very hard on plans to broaden the Gallery’s appeal and generate increased revenue.
"We are now in a position to implement our strategy, however we desperately need more working capital to kick things off. We hope you can help.
"The National Cartoon Gallery houses the largest collection of cartoon art in Australia, with more than 25,000 drawings, caricatures, comic strips and political cartoons, which tell an irreplaceable cultural and political history of our nation.
"The Gallery’s closure would leave this invaluable cartoon collection without a home and we would lose - forever - a vital part of the cultural fabric of our nation.
"We are asking the people of Coffs Harbour City and the wider Australian community to show your support and help us raise the money we need to keep the Gallery alive.
"Here are some more reasons why the NCG is important to our city and our nation.

· The Gallery incorporates a restored WWII Bunker – one of the few heritage buildings in our city.
· The NCG Board has gifted Coffs Harbour a spectacular $3m gallery building, largely funded by the NSW State Government. A very valuable asset.
· The NCG is a major tourist and cultural attraction and a dynamic asset for the tourism industry.
· Over the years it has offered residents and tourists unique access to a variety of great exhibitions, many featuring many of Australia’s leading cartoonists. This is a one-of-a-kind experience that NO OTHER regional centre can offer.
· The NCG is a unique venue for both community and business events on the Coffs Coast.
· It provides education, entertainment, interactivity and practical drawing workshops for younger people.
· It stands for the values of our Australian nation, including freedom of expression, creativity, speech, respect, community, fairness and equal opportunity.

"National Cartoon Gallery is a precious resource. Help us in our fight to keep the doors open. Everyone who donates to this campaign will be sent a small token of appreciation.
"Remember, donations are also tax deductable [sic]."

Already I have had to have conversations with cartoonists and families of cartoonists who have supplied and donated works to the Gallery. Once before I encouraged the donation of artworks (as I did myself), but now I no longer know what to tell them to do. Michael Mercier, who earlier kindly donated almost two thousand of his father Emile Mercier's original newspaper cartoons (see one, above), rang me last week to inform me that he's now taken ownership of them again. 

As someone who has actively contributed to the Gallery in the past (as a financial supporter, a sometime visitor, a donator of published works, and as someone who encouraged others to donate cartoons to their collection), I have decided to put my money where my mouth is, and have donated to the Gofundme. However, I really don't have any answer to all of the questions about the Gallery's future. I'm simply left terribly saddened with the present state of play. Which is that it's presently closed.

Comicoz-published volumes of this book were made to help raise funds for the Gallery. Some copies still available from the Comicoz store!