Toi Tauranga Art Gallery to reopen in November
Major two-year redevelopment delivers Tauranga city a new world-standard gallery, venue, and education and creative space
Opening events include community celebration day
After closing its doors two years ago, Toi Tauranga Art Gallery will reopen in November having undertaken a major redevelopment and redesign as part of Tauranga’s transformative civic redevelopment.
Toi Tauranga Art Gallery sits at the heart of the city’s future civic precinct, Te Manawataki o Te Papa. The redevelopment has delivered extensive seismic and structural restrengthening, a reorientation of the gallery including a new entrance, an interior fit-out, upgraded lighting and air-conditioning systems, a destination retail offering with products designed by local artists, a new café, and an education and creativity centre for families and young people.
Tauranga Art Gallery Trust Chair Rosemary Protheroe says, “As the preeminent dedicated visual arts space in the Bay of Plenty region, the gallery’s purpose is to build lifelong relationships with art for all people. We achieve this by bringing artistic excellence, profound cultural experiences, arts education and joyful creative escapism to the heart of Tauranga Moana.
“The gallery’s $9.65m gallery redevelopment, which was jointly paid by Tauranga Art Gallery Trust and Tauranga City Council, has been an investment in future-proofing an incredibly valuable civic asset for generations to come, sitting proudly alongside our Te Manawataki o Te Papa and city centre partners, Tauranga Libraries, Tauranga Museum and Baycourt Community and Arts Centre.”
Warren and Mahoney Architects have led the redesign which has been inspired by Tauranga Moana contemporary artist Maraea Timutimu (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi). Timutimu has also consulted to the gallery and architectural team on the interiors. For example, the use of natural materials such as Hineura stone in the new entrance anchors the building in the local environment, and other elements are a nod to the mid-century design of the building.
During the two-year closure, while navigating the redevelopment, the gallery team continued their work offsite. This included creating a pop-up gallery in central Tauranga, running children's art workshops, continuing their ongoing artist engagement work, and undertaking comprehensive preparation for the exciting opening exhibitions and public programmes that lie ahead.
The gallery will reopen with nine exceptional exhibitions by artists from across Aotearoa, Australia and the Pacific. For example, inside the new Craigs Investment Partners Atrium, visitors will get to experience the wonder of Kereama Taepa’s Whakairo – one of the most ambitious augmented reality art experiences in a New Zealand gallery. Other highlights include works by Samoan mother and daughter, Pusi and Vaimaila Urale, portrait favourites Old Friends from the Tauranga Art Gallery collections and, showing for the first time in Tauranga, work by renowned senior artist Darcy Nicholas (Ngāti Ranginui).
Toi Tauranga Art Gallery Director Sonya Korohina says “Our opening season marks the first in a two-year cycle of exhibitions designed to surprise and delight our audiences. We’ve made key upgrades that expand the Gallery’s capacity to showcase a wider range of art. The Venetta Miles Vault has been transformed into a dedicated space for moving image works, launching with a presentation by renowned Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey. We’ve also added a brand-new gallery, ideal for exhibiting object-based works, which will debut with a striking contemporary jewellery exhibition.”
The gallery will officially open to the public with a vibrant free community celebration day on Saturday 15 November from 10am to 4pm. The doors will be thrown open with exhibitions throughout the gallery and a programme of activities taking place all day outside in Masonic Park, including a lineup of local performers, choirs, kapa haka and more.
“Toi Tauranga Art Gallery is a much-loved cultural taonga and its redevelopment a significant asset for our region. We’re incredibly proud that the gallery will be the landmark building opening in the Te Manawataki o Te Papa project. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back on 15 November. It’ll be like reconnecting with an old friend – you don’t realise how much you’ve missed them until they’re back, and you’re reminded of just how special they are,” Korohina says.
Follow Toi Tauranga Art Gallery’s reopening events and activities, and upcoming exhibitions, on the website and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).
For further information, interviews and images, please contact: Siobhan Waterhouse on siobhan@siobhanwaterhouse.nz or via What’s App on +44 7 884 598 345.
About Toi Tauranga Art Gallery
Toi Tauranga Art Gallery is the preeminent visual arts destination in the Bay of Plenty region.
One of the key partners in Tauranga city’s future civic precinct, Te Manawataki o Te Papa, the Gallery’s purpose is to help visitors build lifelong relationships with art by offering exceptional experiences that engage, inspire, educate and challenge.
With a year-round programme of work by leading national and international artists, Toi Tauranga Art Gallery works with emerging to established practitioners, across a wide range of research, media and creative practice.
The organisation values its partnership with tangata whenua of Tauranga Moana and prioritises partnership and kaitiakitanga (guardianship), operating in an environmentally responsible way.
Toi Tauranga Art Gallery receives major operational funding from Tauranga City Council.