Geoff Helisma | The value of Clarence Valley Council’s (CVC) art collection has increased by 90 per cent in five years. The appraisal, completed for insurance purposes in February and March this year, valued the collection at $3,764,380, compared to the 2013 valuation of $1.98million. The Grafton Regional Gallery recently hosted the Archibald touring exhibition for the third time, from February 2 to March 19 and, for the first time, charged entry fees: $10 for a season ticket per adult, and $5 for ANZ customers (ANZ sponsored the exhibition on its tour of regional NSW). School children were admitted via a gold coin donation. During the exhibition, 3,778 people attended, including 29 schools and 809 school children, generating $24,587.40 in additional, unbudgeted income for the Gallery in 2017/18. In his report to yesterday’s committee meeting, Environment, Planning & Community director Des Schroder wrote: “Charging for the first time to the Archibald exhibition shows that ‘blockbuster’ exhibitions have the potential to have fees applied and still have successful attendance.” Mr Schroder also pointed out that the collection was as risk “due to its vulnerability to flooding and, as such, the storage area does not reach standards in its present location”.