Gallery Five opens
One of the most common requests made to Te Manawa is a desire to see more of the public art collection on display, and with an earlier reopening on the calendar, the Art Gallery building is being prepared with that in mind.
The renewal project, with Te Manawa unveiling plans to make some significant upgrades, has now been scaled back in response to public feedback wanting the Gallery building open sooner. While this means much of the improvements Te Manawa wanted to make have had to be cut, the break in the schedule of exhibitions has allowed the team to devise an exhibition that showcases the art collection like never before.
Works displayed in Gallery Two will share an interesting property — they will be displayed in exactly the manner in which they are stored. The simple democracy of available storage space will determine what is on display and tear the curtain dividing front and back of house.
In addition, because the works will be displayed on the style of racks on which they are stored, they can be easily swapped, allowing the exhibition to “cover more ground” by changing the objects displayed in it every month or two. Te Manawa will keep the public appraised of when this is done so visitors can see the process in action. After around two years of rotation, visitors will have had the chance to see every artwork in the collection on display.
Gallery Four has been partially walled off and is accessible only by a single doorway. In this more intimate space a digital audio-visual installation is being prepared that showcases detail and juxtaposition of artworks recently photographed for the Collections digitisation project by photographer David Lupton.
In Gallery One, the largest gallery, the collection’s biggest works will be on show.
Meanwhile, upstairs in Gallery Five, an emphasis is being placed on photography, with the first exhibition to coincide with this year’s 125th women’s suffrage anniversary. It will feature works by women photographers.
The changes are subtle but significant. The refreshed Te Manawa Art Gallery will be open to all visitors on Saturday September 29 from 10am. Admission is free.