An activity report for QVMAG for the period February to April 2022 was tabled to the council at the June meeting last week, and showed visitation to the museum had increased from the same time period last year. During that time period there were 23,563 visitors to QVMAG across both Inveresk and Royal Park, for a total of 81,550 people.

READ MORE: Road toll rises to 31 after Greens Beach tragedy

Deputy mayor Danny Gibson, who moved the motion to receive the report, said it was a fantastic reflection of the initiatives QVMAG had implemented over the past 12 months.

"It's pleasing to see that the connection building it [QVMAG] has done with the community is really starting to pay off," he said.

Cr Gibson said he had noticed a change at QVMAG following an increase in community engagement, with more relevant and community-specific exhibitions in place, which was creating a sense of community ownership.

READ MORE: Police investigating alleged act of bestiality at Branxholm on June 10

"It's really been a paradigm shift that we've seen [at QVMAG]," Cr Gibson said.

Cr Gibson said there had been a lot of work done so far on the future directions paper but it would see the council do "whatever it can do leverage the museum."

Rumours have often swirled about the cost QVMAG has to the council, and the organisation was subject to an audit in 2020 amid questions state government funding it receives had been cut.

That assertion was rejected by then-Arts Minister Elise Archer. At that time, the City of Launceston Council and QVMAG staff created a set of performance indicators and KPIs to measure performance of the museum.

READ MORE: Ban on pronged collars for dogs among a range of animal welfare changes proposed for Tasmania

A redevelopment of the Royal Park site failed to secure federal funding at the federal election, despite being a priority project highlighted by the Northern Tasmanian Development Corporation. However, the City of Launceston Council has allocated $800,000 for upgrades to the Phenomena Factory at Inveresk, the science for kids area.

The activity report noted the new Aboriginal Garden was introduced to the community and families and kids also began returning to the museum following the easing of COVID restrictions.

READ MORE: Tasmania's newest sex shop, Adultshop.com, opens in Launceston

The education program saw 39 schools visit QVMAG during the reporting period and with further easing of COVID-19 restrictions, guided visits proved popular.

The process of assessing new acquisitions and deaccessioning for QVMAG has been streamlined with the establishment of an independent Collections Committee.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: