The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū Trust
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū Trust, formerly known as The Bishop Suter Trust, is a charitable trust that operates The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū in Nelson, New Zealand. The gallery was founded by Anglican Bishop Andrew Burn Suter and his wife, Amelia, who donated a piece of land for the purpose of building an art gallery for the city in 1895. The Bishop Suter Art Gallery Trust was formed by a private Act of Parliament in 1896, with Bishop Mules as its first chairman.
The trust board continued to administer the affairs of the Bishop Suter Art Gallery throughout the 20th century. After extensive consultation with the community, The Nelson City Council agreed in October 2006 to begin the process of making the gallery a Council Controlled Organisation. In 2008 the original Act of Parliament establishing the Suter was overturned. It was replaced with the Bishop Suter Art Gallery Governance Restructuring Act, placing the gallery under Nelson City Council governance, managed by the newly formed Bishop Suter Trust.
In 2024, the trust changed its name to The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū Trust. This charitable trust, incorporated in New Zealand under the Charitable Trusts Act 2005, has the primary objective to provide the people of Nelson and visitors to the region access to our cultural heritage and to the many forms of contemporary cultural expression.
The six trustees are:
Steve Green: Trust Chairperson; Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committee; Chair Collections Committee
Margaret Soderberg: Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committee
Rebecca Mason: Chair Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committee
Jane du Feu: Ko Te Pouaranga appointee; Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committee; Collections Committee
Judy Finn: Chair Marketing and Partnerships Committee
Nic Foster: Collections Committee; Marketing & Partnership Committee
Also:
Philippa Eberlein: Ex-officio member (non-voting); President of the Nelson Suter Art Society
The Bishop suter trustees (missing - nic foster)
