Art of change
Tauranga Art Gallery’s planned renovation has begun; in the meantime, opportunities for art continue throughout the local community.
words Monique Balvert-O’Connor
Although the iconic Tauranga Art Gallery has temporarily shut its doors, there’s more than a silver lining to the closure. What will follow is pure gold, explains excited gallery director Sonya Korohina.
The gallery’s main building is closed for renovations, reopening next summer as a more inclusive and connected facility. Gallery visitors can expect some “wonderful” new inclusions, such as a creativity centre for all ages, a gallery space especially for tamariki, a dedicated retail space for destination shoppers featuring a high proportion of works by Tauranga Moana artists and designers; and a café offering a curated food experience by day, plus a bookable hospitality space by night. Adding immediate wow will be a grand new entrance allowing a “lovely interplay” with Masonic Park, and a view into the gallery.
The gallery’s closure coincides with work beginning on the redevelopment of Masonic Park. The art gallery’s entrance will relocate from Wharf Street to the opposite side of the building, to be part of the new Te Manawataki o Te Papa vibrant community space. The art gallery will open up into this new cultural precinct, kept company by the likes of Baycourt and the new museum and library. The licensed café will be to the side of the gallery entrance.
“The café will enhance the gallery as a social space, offering people a place to gather before or after their gallery experience. A great espresso is a good way to attract new visitors – ones who have been at the café and then decide to venture beyond into the exhibitions,” Sonya explains.
The gallery’s revamp will involve working within the building’s footprint, except for extending to the parameters of the gallery’s land to accommodate the new entrance. Internal spaces will essentially remain the same, except for the relocation of the foyer, and a reimagining of space in the children’s area. The creativity centre will move to what’s currently the entrance/foyer on Wharf Street, and above (in what’s now a super-high ceiling void) will be a children’s gallery.
“We have to always be looking to the future and creating a world that the next generation can live in and be uplifted by,” Sonya says. The gallery project will fit the bill.
Art opportunities continue during the main building’s closure. Check out the TAG POP UP Gallery and learning space on Devonport Road, opposite the library. POP UP Exhibitions include Tauranga Moana Waterscapes: 1800s – Present and Wunderboxes (involving a map and a quest to find captivating, interactive art installations hidden throughout central Tauranga Moana).
