Bank Art Museum Moree (BAMM) will receive $185,000 a year plus GST from Moree Plains Shire Council under a five-year agreement signed on Wednesday, 28 October. The funding will support the gallery’s operations through to June 2030.
Mayor Susannah Pearse and Moree Cultural Art Foundation chair Annabelle Simpson signed the agreement at the gallery. It covers the period from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2030 and follows a $100,000 interim funding commitment approved by Council in December 2025 while the longer-term arrangement was being finalised.
BAMM is owned and operated by the Moree Cultural Art Foundation. Mayor Pearse said the gallery was a cornerstone of the region’s arts and cultural landscape.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have an institution like BAMM in Moree. It is a regionally-significant gallery which bats well above its average, helping to put Moree on the map, and enabling our community to come together and participate in and access the arts.”
Chair Annabelle Simpson said the agreement provides an opportunity to plan for the years ahead, including BAMM’s 40th anniversary in 2028, and that the partnership would help strengthen the gallery’s standing beyond the region.
“Working in partnership with Council enables BAMM to expand their cultural significance and focus on initiatives that will increase our prominence both locally and statewide.”
Council’s Manager Economic Development, Brian Kindilien, also pointed to the gallery’s contribution to the local economy, with exhibitions and cultural events attracting visitors who support other Moree businesses.
One of those exhibitions is just weeks away, with BAMM preparing to host the 2026 Archibald Prize. The exhibition will bring works from one of Australia’s best-known portrait competitions to Moree, with Wayne Tunnicliffe, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, officially opening the show on Thursday, 12 November.
Local children and teenagers will also have an opportunity to exhibit their work through the Young Archie competition. Open to artists aged five to 18, the competition invites entrants to create a portrait of someone special in their lives, with winners selected across four age groups.
The Archibald Prize exhibition runs from 13 November to 19 December at BAMM, 25 Frome Street, Moree. Entry is $10, with children under 15 admitted free. The gallery is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 4pm and Saturday from 10am to 1pm.
