Council has moved to rework branding for the Market Street art gallery, including MUDRAG acronym.

It's the controversial acronym that was suggested by in-house designers to appear on the Mudgee gallery's new logo.

At the Mid-Western Regional Council meeting held on Wednesday night, Councillors moved unanimously to rename the gallery, "Mudgee Region Gallery".

This means the controversial acronym, "MUDRAG" will not be used.

The motion was brought forward by Councillor Paine who said the decision, "requires a little bit more work and thought".

The lively discussion continued as Councillor Shelley was more plain with his words.

"It's a bit of a stitch up and we need to get this right, it's a very heavy investment by ratepayers", he said.

The Mid-Western Regional Council originally endorsed the name "Mudgee Regional Art Gallery" at its meeting in September 2020.

The original name was decided in an attempt to come up with a suitable acronym, however that did not occur.

Councillor Cavalier agreed with the decision to rethink the gallery's brand strategy and revise the name.

"This course of action is more prudent given we're spending millions of dollars, we can't get to the end and slap any old name on it," he said.

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The decision to name the gallery has not been straightforward and has been ongoing since August.

At its Committee meeting in August 2020, the Cultural Development Committee unanimously endorsed the name "Mudgee Art Gallery", however Council eventually amended this to include "Regional" in the title.

The Board of Mudgee Region Tourism proposed naming the gallery the "Home of Experiences and Art in Mudgee", or in short, "H.E.ART Mudgee".

However, the Cultural Development Committee did not support the title H.E.ART Mudgee, as there was a perceived lack of clarity around the name and how it could be promoted across the country as an art gallery.

There were also concerns raised about the way the word was constructed meaning that it could be interpreted as "He Art".

The logo avoided use of the acronym "MRAG" as this would duplicate the branding utilised by Maitland Regional Art Gallery.

The primary logo suggested is a black and white monochrome design which Fiona Shearman, manager of community and cultural services noted, was considered "timeless" and "in line with international gallery branding".

The report also noted the logo's monochrome design gave room for opportunities to add colour to the pallet for specific events, such as Pink Up Mudgee.

The Council designed the logo in-house and such there was no cost, however at the Wednesday meeting Councillors agreed to engage an appropriate external marketing consultant to rework the design.

As of 29 January 2021, $3 million had been spent on the project from a total budget of $8.1 million.

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