New Powerhouse divides voters in the lead-up to opening

Voters are divided on whether they will go to the new Parramatta Powerhouse as the new museum in Sydney’s west is yet to convince a majority of the public it is worth visiting.

Asked in a Resolve Political Monitor Poll if they were either likely or very likely to attend the Powerhouse, 48 per cent said yes, compared to 42 per cent who said they were unlikely to visit.

When the poll asked 1100 voters in August and September if they’d turn up to the Powerhouse within the first few months of opening, 10 per cent also said they were unsure if they would.

The result reveals substantive scepticism among punters less than two months before the Powerhouse opens its doors in November. More than half of respondents were either unsure or certain they wouldn’t attend.

The divisive result comes only two weeks after chief executive Lisa Havilah stood down pending the outcome of governance and procurement investigations.

But Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue chief executive Adam Leto said the result was not a negative one, and that the museum’s opening could be as “impactful” as the opening of the Western Sydney International Airport.

“Like with most things, people won’t really appreciate the impact and the offering until it’s up and running,” he said. “There’s certainly enough strength in the interest and the excitement that exists in western Sydney alone that will drive it forward, and the rest will catch up when they do.”

Leto said the result could partly be attributed to scepticism of the project that cannot be addressed until people can see the museum for themselves.

“Until they’re up and running and people can engage and touch and see it and feel it, it doesn’t feel real,” he said. “And once they can experience it up close, then it does become real, and then we start to see the sort of flow-on effects that will come from it.

“Once the doors open, I think we’ll see a mass arrive, and I think we need to be prepared for that.”

It comes after the line-up for a 23-day opening festival was announced on Saturday. The opening is set to include large-scale installations, workshops, dance performances, panel discussions and a 124-year-old steam train taking passengers to the museum.

The festival, which will kick off on opening day, November 7, will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a plaque unveiling. The museum will host a donor preview and a media tour on November 6.

Entry is free, although visitors must book a timed slot so organisers can manage crowd capacity. According to the state government, 65 per cent of the launch program will be free.

The program includes conversations with a former NASA astronaut Charles F. Bolden jnr, internationally acclaimed science fiction writer Ted Chiang, a newly commissioned dance from Jin Wu Koon featuring lion and dragon dance costumes, and a Pasifika film festival.

There will also be a Diwali Day Party and, for the first time outside the Torres Strait Islands, a performance by dancers and singers from the Badu Islands.

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