Because we (Dunedin) are back on top — artistically speaking, that is.
Just-released figures show the city is second in the country in terms of the value of its public art.
But Mayor Dave Cull is having none of that second-best nonsense. He says if the collections of the Hocken Library and University of Otago were added, the city would probably surge past Auckland into No 1 position.
And by head of population, the figures make Auckland look small.
Oh and, by the way, the Dunedin City Council alone owns art worth more than 100 times the value of Tauranga’s.
Take that, Tauranga — again!
Earlier this week the latest Statistics New Zealand figures estimated Tauranga had displaced Dunedin as the country’s fifth-biggest city, in terms of its population.
But new figures, concerning artworks, have now been released by the Taxpayers’ Union, which sent Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act requests to every local authority in New Zealand.
The response showed the Grey District Council had no artworks all, while the Manawatu District Council had one, worth $850.
In Dunedin, however, we have so much art that if it was distributed to the city’s 54,000 or so homes, each would have $1487 worth of art. In Auckland, that figure would be a slightly sad $586.
Dunedin Public Art Gallery (DPAG) director Cam McCracken said Dunedin’s collections were the envy of institutions around the country.
As well as the DPAG’s collection, there were those of the Hocken collection, Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin City Library and Otago Museum.
"We’re so lucky as a community to have these riches."
The foundations of the major collections had been established by "some very ambitious people" from the earliest days of the gallery, which was founded in 1884. In those days the business community was "very interested in the arts" and the gallery still benefited from local philanthropy.
There was also some "extraordinary generosity" in the 1980s, which included the gifting of a Claude Monet painting by the de Beer family.
"We’re still the beneficiaries of extraordinary generosity from the local community."
The Monet was one of the higher-value works at the gallery.
Mr Cull said the city "has always been, and will be for the foreseeable future, the cultural capital of New Zealand".
"We are No 1 in terms of culture — we know that."
If the art owned by all the institutions in Dunedin was included, "I wouldn’t be surprised if we passed Auckland in terms of value as well", Mr Cull said.
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When this City has gone backwards the rest of New Zealand has gone ahead in leaps and bounds.
The only reason we have loads of old paintings - no one wants them! Perhaps we can hang them in the windows of all the empty shops up the main street?
Or sell the paintings and fix the pavements.
Time to get real and look after the people who still here - before Dunedin becomes number 7....