Burnie Arts redevelopment project

Project typeConstruction

The Burnie Arts Centre Redevelopment has transformed Burnie’s cultural precinct, bringing together arts, culture, community and events in a renewed space for the city and the wider community.

In early 2021, Council announced a change in direction for Burnie’s cultural precinct, bringing together the city’s art gallery and museum with its function centre to create a new cultural space.

This was more than a refurbishment of the Burnie Arts & Function Centre. It was a new vision and model for culture and creativity in Burnie.

The project has been made possible through an $18 million commitment from the Australian Government, with the Tasmanian Government contributing $2 million towards the Civic Plaza redevelopment through the Burnie City Centre Urban Plan funding, alongside investment from Council and the Thyne Reid Foundation.

The redeveloped Burnie Arts Centre and Civic Plaza provide a renewed cultural and civic space for the community and a significant addition to Burnie’s city centre.

Award-winning redevelopment

The Burnie Arts Centre Redevelopment was recognised at the 2026 Master Builders Tasmania Awards for Excellence, with Vos Construction & Joinery winning the Renovation/Fit-Out over $10 Million Award and Klek Roofing & Cladding named Specialist Contractor of the Year – Commercial.

The awards recognise the scale, quality and specialist craftsmanship behind the transformation of the Burnie Arts Centre.

Burnie Arts brand identity and logo

Our precinct is a chip off the block. Our industrial nature, and raw materials connect us to our environment and inspire our creativity and culture.

The Project Steering Committee has been overseeing the Cultural Centre project. With "Burnie Arts" as the approved name, consultant Meg Perkins is crafting a new visual identity that reflects Burnie’s landscape, history, and the design of the new building, while featuring a distinctive colour linked to our cultural heritage.

Take a look at the inspiration behind the proposed brand identity for Burnie Arts released in June 2024:

Burnie-Arts-Brand-Identity.pdf(PDF, 8MB)

(PDF, 8MB)

Key Project Milestones

The Australian Government accepted Council’s business case and approved a $5 million commitment (originally intended for a new North West Museum and Art Gallery building) to be re-directed in to the re-imagined Burnie Cultural Centre project. In 2022, post the Federal election of that year, a further commitment of $13 million was made to the project by the new Australian Government with the Burnie Cultural Precinct project included as the only Tasmanian regional cultural infrastructure project identified within the Australian Government's 5-year cultural policy document "Revive".

To better understand community expectations the architectural designs produced by Xsquared were presented for community consultation. Community members Tich Ferencz and Eleanor Austin joined the Steering Committee as a conduit for community feedback throughout the consultation process. Vos Constructions was awarded the construction contract and have started work on the demolition.

The time frame is shown below with key milestones:

	The Vision - First round of consultation ends 31 July 2021
	Council considered Consultation Feedback and adopted Final Report Workshop and Council Meeting August 2021
	Architectural Concept and Design - appointment of Xsquared Architects January 2022
	Second Round of Community Consultation - Architectural Design October 2022
	Construction Tender and Appointment of Contractor Awarded March 2023
	Construction - Commencement through to Completion Commenced April 2023