The new face of philanthropy emerges
Meets the couple who donate thousands of dollars to the arts in Christchurch.
It started with a bull. ‘‘It seemed to stand in defiance,’’ Christchurch businessman Ben Gough says. It was June 2012 and a large bronze sculpture of a bull on a grand piano was standing on a rubble-strewn empty site on Madras St.
Gough and his wife, Penny Gough, were among the 55,000 people who flocked to the city centre site during 30 days to visit the artworks by Michael Parekowhai.
The red zone cordon was moved back to make way for the sculptures, which consisted of a carved red piano and a pair of bronze bulls atop pianos.
The installation was one of many public art initiatives led by the Christchurch Art Gallery in the wake of the February 2011 earthquake.
‘‘I saw this piece of art in this urban environment that was very raw. It had a strong presence,’’ Ben Gough says.
‘‘We felt a connection to that. We could see that people enjoyed that piece of art. It gave them a reason to come into town. Lots of people wanted to see at and touch it. ‘‘That resonated with us.’’ For Ben and Penny Gough it was the start of a surprising journey that would see them build a personal collection of art, donate about $165,000 towards buying new art for Christchurch’s public collection and become advocates for philanthropy in the city for the first time.
When the Christchurch Art Gallery launched a fundraising campaign to buy one of the bronze bulls for the city in 2013, the Goughs donated $40,000.
The bull now welcomes visitors on the forecourt outside the newly restored gallery.
More recently, the couple donated $100,000 towards the purchase of a $1 million sculpture by Australian artist Ron Mueck for the gallery.
An exhibition of Mueck’s hyper-real sculptures of people attracted 135,000 visitors to the gallery in 2010, breaking attendance records at the gallery and sending queues around the block on the show’s final weekend.
For Ben Gough, the thousands of people who flocked to the city centre for the bulls and the Mueck exhibition were part of the reason for investing in art.
He wants to help make the city centre a vibrant place.
‘‘We made a contribution to the bull because we were looking for ways to be engaged with the rebuild of Christchurch and give something back to the central city. We wanted people to come back into the city,’’ he says.
‘‘That is how we got involved. That is where our journey started.
‘‘Penny and I have been very fortunate with our own personal situation.
‘‘The ability to give back to the community is important. We are in a fortunate position where we can do so.’’
Gough and his sister have a controlling stake in Gough Group, which supplies heavy machinery to mining, forestry, power and infrastructure industries.
He is deputy chairman and strategic development manager at the group.
At 43, he is part of a new generation of philanthropists in Christchurch who have been inspired by the 2011 earthquakes to invest in their city.
There have been many notable examples of philanthropy in the city during the past two years.
The late Neil Graham paid for a new neon artwork by British artist Martin Creed for the gallery, Christchurch couple Marilyn and Grant Nelson gave away the proceeds from the sale of a $20m commercial site in Christchurch, and Susan and Jim Wakefield plan to use the $13m insurance payout from their quake-damaged home to build a new art museum in central Christchurch.
In February, this wave of philanthropic endeavour was formalised with a new organisation called City Foundation, established to connect donors with important city projects.
The foundation was launched with a $2.5m donation to the construction of the new central library.
Gallery director Jenny Harper said a new group of younger donors had emerged in Christchurch since the earthquakes.
‘‘We have been keenly focusing on younger donors. The longer-term and older donors were tired of being asked by the same people all the time.
‘‘We have been encouraging younger people to give while they are alive and help build a community.’’
Once the $1m target for the Mueck sculpture has been reached, the gallery will have raised $3m from public donations over four years to buy five significant artworks.
It has also raised $3m for an endowment fund it can use to buy artworks. The target for the fund is $5m. But the rise in philanthropy in Christchurch is happening as public funding for the arts is falling.
The gallery’s recent fundraising drive was prompted by the Christchurch City Council cutting its art-buying fund from $250,000 to $80,000 a year.
Arts agency Creative New Zealand warned last year that arts organisation could face a 10 per cent funding cut because of a fall in Lotto ticket sales.
Creative NZ relies on the lottery for about two-thirds of its annual budget.
In a city with many priorities, it has fallen to philanthropists to help out with a funding gap for the arts.
Some have expressed scepticism that philanthropy can fill that gap alone.
Court Theatre chief executive Philip Aldridge wrote in 2016 that philanthropy needs to run alongside public funding.
‘‘Worryingly, the Government appears to believe that philanthropy can replace government funding. I spend a lot of my time trying to do this and I can assure the Government that it isn’t possible. The small number of good people who do help are very clear with us – they want to complement public investment and not replace it,’’ he wrote. Harper agrees. ‘‘It is crucial to maintain a public investment.
‘‘The disadvantage is, if we are seen to be too good at fundraising, it could backfire on us.’’
Gough has gone public with his philanthropy because he wants to encourage others to donate to good causes in Christchurch.
‘‘When we donated to the bull, we did so anonymously.
‘‘The fundraising for the bull was during a very emotional time in Christchurch. There was a lot of raw emotion and a lot of people in need and people did question giving to the arts. We made donations to a variety of different areas and art was one of them.
‘‘More recently, we have been more visible with our gifting and philanthropy. We are doing so deliberately. We feel there is an opportunity to show leadership to the community and help encourage others, hopefully, to do the same.’’
Before donating to the bull sculpture, the couple had not been involved with art.
‘‘We are new to this and the arts can feel quite intimidating,’’ Gough says.
‘‘Looking back, we haven’t had a great love affair with art, but we are starting to build that. It has been a journey for us.
‘‘We are learning as we go and we are having lots of fun with it. We have also been buying little bits and pieces for ourselves.’’
The couple set up a foundation about 10 years ago to donate to causes in Christchurch.
They donate to help four people go on Outward Bound and Spirit of Adventure trips each year, inspired by Gough’s 2004 experience in a round-the-world yacht race, and contribute to mental health services in the city.
Gough said the money in his foundation would be invested in commercial enterprises if it was not donated to local causes.
‘‘What would we be doing with those funds otherwise? That is a good question.
‘‘We have commercial interests. We have chosen to set up a foundation with funds in a charitable trust to put those funds aside so they are not tied up in other commercial activities.’’
He said it was satisfying to be able to contribute to his home town.
‘‘I was born and raised in Christchurch. After the quakes, Penny and I had a good long discussion about continuing to live in Christchurch. For all the great things here, we decided we wanted to carry on living here and we wanted our children to live and grow up in Christchurch.’’