One of Sir James Wallace's victims is calling for arts organisations to publicly acknowledge their links to the man who abused him, and make sure the culture that he believes enabled Wallace's offending is dismantled.
Philanthropist Sir James Wallace was convicted in 2021 of the indecent assaults of three men. He was also found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice for being involved in a plot to dissuade a witness from giving evidence.
Wallace's fortune came from his family meat business, but his true passion was art. He spent millions of dollars on art pieces, supporting theatre and supporting big arts institutions.
As one of New Zealand's biggest funders of the arts, Wallace was constantly invited to openings. He would also have young artists live with him at Rannoch, his imposing mansion in Auckland's upmarket Epsom.
Young artists, like singer Dudley Benson, approached Wallace for funding through the Wallace Arts Trust in 2008, the charitable organisation that held Wallace's art.
Afterward, Wallace phoned Benson and invited him for dinner at Rannoch, where he indecently assaulted the musician.
Benson told TVNZ show Sunday he remained concerned about the lack of accountability from the wider arts community.
"Of course, not everyone knew of everything that he was doing, but a lot of people did and at the very minimum, they knew that he was dangerous. But no one did anything to stop any of this."
Benson believed the Wallace Arts Trust had questions to answer, as he and other artists met Wallace through the organisation.
"Their role has been to accept money from Wallace and they set up residencies, meetings with Wallace with young artists. They run events at his home and at the Pah Homestead.
"It shocks me now to sit here and know that Wallace was found guilty two years ago, or 2021. They've had two years, they've had two years to draft a statement acknowledging what we as victims have been through. They've had two years to have an internal investigation and they've done none of those things," Benson said.
The Wallace Art Trust transitioned to a new charity, The Arts House Trust, in mid-2021.
In a statement, The Arts House Trust said that its thoughts were with the victims of Wallace, and condemned his actions.
"The strict court orders in relation to name suppression meant the trustees of The Arts House Trust were unable to discuss the new trust or the reasons for its establishment publicly, or even privately with members of the arts community, until after suppression was lifted on 28 June.
"The new independent entity, The Arts House Trust, has the objectives to support and promote contemporary art and artists in Aotearoa NZ; and to care for and provide access to its collection.
"The transfer of assets from the James Wallace Arts Trust, excluding Rannoch House, to The Arts House Trust has been underway for a number of months and is due to conclude imminently. The trustees' objective is to ensure the entity operates effectively in perpetuity for the benefit of the arts sector and all New Zealanders."
Asked whether it had reviewed its operations to make sure young artists were protected and whether there had been an internal review, the trust responded: "James Wallace is responsible for his criminal offending, and to suggest the trust, trustees, or staff bear any responsibility or played any role in this offending would be untrue and defamatory, and potentially legally actionable."
Behaviour 'well known'
Benson, as well as several others 1News spoke to, described the criminal investigation into Wallace, who had name suppression for years, as the "worst-kept secret".
James Wenley, a respected arts lecturer and theatre producer at Victoria University in Wellington, said Wallace's "inappropriate and creepy behaviours" towards young men was "well known" before police ever investigated.
He had his own "weird" interaction with Wallace at Auckland's Q theatre several years ago.
"When I was a younger theatre-maker, I was putting on shows and he was one of the places that I was encouraged to go seek funding from. And it was suggested that because I was a young man at the time that I would actually have an easier ride because that's who Wallace preferred," he said.
"There was one, sort of, particular incident that really stands out strongly for me in terms of my interactions with him. This was at an opening night of a theatre show in Auckland and he came to me and he started asking what, for me, were quite like intimate, personal questions. Things like did I have a partner, what was I sort of into intimately, and sort of suggesting that I should like spend, you know, more time with him and get to know him more. And that was, like, quite uncomfortable and felt quite inappropriate. This was in public which kind of talks to the brazenness of it."
Wallace was known to be at most theatre openings, he said.
Documents from 2014 obtained by 1News show another theatre, Basement Theatre company, would recommend all shows invite him to attend their opening nights as a major funder.
Basement put on many shows a year, and Wallace financially contributed to its operation, according to former boss Sam Snedden, who spoke to 1News after Wallace lost name suppression.
"He gave us a small donation a year, equivalent to about $5000 a year," he said.
"When we launched a PledgeMe or crowdfunding campaign to re-do our foyer, he gave us a substantial donation, I think it was $15,000."
In a statement, the Basement Theatre Company said its thoughts were with those affected by Wallace's actions.
"Basement Theatre has been under new leadership both at operations and governance levels since January 2021. During this time, Basement has had absolutely no relationship (financial or otherwise) with James Wallace, nor any trusts or foundations associated with him.
"Unfortunately, we are not in a position to comment on decisions that were made by former Basement staff in the 2010s. James Wallace has not been invited to Basement events for a long time.
"Our thoughts remain with those that were affected by James Wallace's actions, and the actions of those that enabled his behaviour to continue.
"If there were arts organisations that knew about Wallace's offending, but stayed silent and continued to take his money, this is not acceptable. We stand with the victims and commend those that have courageously brought James Wallace's inexcusable and harmful behaviour to light. Our sector leaders must continue to advocate for the arts to be appropriately funded by the government, so that the pressure to accept 'unclean money' is eradicated. We must take this as an urgent wake up call to examine honestly and thoroughly where our revenue comes from," it said.
Wallace's deep pockets
Wallace's own Wallace Arts Awards competition offered thousands of dollars in prize money. He would also independently buy art — huge quantities of it. His collection through his trust had thousands of paintings, ceramics, and statues.
This would be managed through the Wallace Arts Trust.
Major New Zealand films also benefited from Wallace's patronage.
According to NZ On Screen, he was executive producer on seven films since 2017 — the year police first charged him.
"He was in some ways at the centre of the arts community because he had the money. He had deep pockets," Wenley said.
"He said that he would give $2 million a year to the arts and that’s shortchange for someone who has a net value of $170 million. But for the arts, that's actually quite an eye-watering amount of money.
"Of course, that opens up that vulnerability and you’re constantly fighting for money, for resourcing, and that opens up people to exploit those very structures."
Police concerned about young men
In an interview with Sunday Detective Inspector Scott Beard, who oversaw the operation, said police were concerned about the vulnerability of the young men in this case.
1News asked Baird why it took many years for Wallace to be charged.
"That influence, that power, that wealth, you know, maybe they, the victims didn't feel comfortable coming forward," he said.
"Maybe they thought no one would believe them because of who Sir James Wallace was."
He couldn't explain why Wallace thought he had the right to do what he did.
"Whether it's because of the influence he has, with the wealth he has, you know, his standing in society. Whether he just thinks he can just do what he likes."
Asked if police believed there might be more victims out there, Baird said it was hard to speculate.
"We know that he's in his mid-80s. How long has this gone on for? How many victims could be there? There could be lots. You see it in other, you see it sometimes with teachers who are charged. Suddenly more and more victims keep coming forward."
He said policing had developed a lot of over the years to better support victims of sexual assault.
"We just want to reassure those victims of sexual violence that get the counselling, if it means coming to the police, telling your story, we're there to listen to you. And it doesn't matter what gender you are, what sexual orientation you are."
Wenley is calling for more work to be done to make sure young artists are not exploited.
"There was concern but there wasn't anyone stepping up to say this needs to stop. And I think that's one of the big things that must come out of this is to have that kind of unity around prevention, prevention of sexual violence, of harassment, bullying. That has to be the focus and we really need the whole community to come together around that mission," he said.
Benson hoped his story would help the arts community change for the better.
The 85-year-old's been fighting name suppression for years, but that lapsed on Wednesday. (Source: 1News)
"I've got no shame about what happened to me that night anymore," he said.
"We need to bring into the open what he did and part of that is sharing who I am. And I hope that this is an elixir for any shame that others have experienced with him. And I encourage them to share what's happened. It's the only way that we're going to get through this as an arts community.
"Keeping a secret makes you sick and it's time to shine a light on what he did to our people."
1News asked for comment from Wallace, via his lawyer David Jones KC, on Wenley's allegation that Wallace had asked him uncomfortable questions, as well as other concerns raised by Sunday.
"Given the current fixation with pronouns which are advocating what the person's sexuality or identified gender is, asking about someone's sexuality in the lobby of a theatre can hardly be seen as an affront," Jones said.
"Hopefully there will be significant reference to the myriad aspects of the art world Sir James has contributed to over the decades."
Wallace has never provided any comment to 1News about his offending.
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