The opening of Powerhouse Parramatta has brought renewed attention to the political folklore surrounding the billion-dollar cultural project, whose origins have long been the subject of debate.
Arts writer Linda Morris, who has followed the project since its inception, said some of its strongest critics believed the plan began as a “back-of-the-napkin ‘thought bubble’”. The account was reputedly linked to a campfire conversation between former Museum of Contemporary Art director Liz Ann Macgregor and then-premier Mike Baird during an overnight charity walk.
Macgregor disputes that version in her newly released memoir, The Power of the Real, which examines cultural policy, philanthropy and public access.
She writes that the idea was neither prompted by a campsite discussion nor hers, arguing instead that it developed through years of conversations among western Sydney arts leaders.
The proposal later entered official planning, appearing in an infrastructure strategy update that recommended the government “urgently consider relocation of the Powerhouse Museum to the Parramatta Cultural Precinct”.
