Airport artwork departure on hold
A significant piece of Taranaki art which has hung in the New Plymouth airport terminal for 50 years will remain ‘‘pride of place’’ in the building when the site is redeveloped.
New Plymouth Art in Public Places Trust chairman Terry Parkes said the aluminum relief sculpture by Don Driver would be placed in a more prominent position in the building.
‘‘It is one of the most important artworks in the city and there was never any doubt it would be removed from the terminal,’’ he said.
‘‘It was a mis-communication that occurred which said the sculpture would be removed to elsewhere in the city.’’
Parkes wanted it better placed where it could be seen by visitors arriving at the airport terminal.
‘‘Where it is positioned will be one of the considerations to be discussed when the new terminal is built,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve always thought it was in the wrong place above the check-in where it was too high and reflected the light and couldn’t be seen properly.
‘‘Many people have said to me they don’t notice it as well.
‘‘It will take pride of place and will be very visible to the public.’’
Parkes said the trust had worked with New Plymouth Dis- trict Council and the Govett Brewster Art Gallery director to have important artwork, such as the Driver mural, incorporated into building designs around the city.
More artwork by well known Taranaki artists, such as Driver, Len Lye, and Michael Smither, and others from outside the region, could be installed at the proposed $28m terminal, he said.
‘‘New Plymouth is an art destination and the airport is the first point of call for many travellers to the region and an opportunity to promote the best of art.’’
Don Driver, who died in 2011, completed the originally flat silver toned mural depicting famous Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith landing at Bell Block after the first trans-Tasman crossing of a passenger flight in 1933.
Parkes said the mural was more relevant now after Driver’s death than when he was alive.
‘‘Artwork always increases in value when the artists died.’’
Airport manager Wayne Wootten was non-committal on the artwork’s future.
‘‘We can’t confirm yet if the mural will remain in the terminal but whether it is or not, it will be retained by the council.’’
The 7m by 2m mural was commissioned by New Plymouth City Council in 1966 and installed in the current terminal in January of 1967. The New Plymouth District Council planning committee met on Tuesday night. Councillor Stacey Hitchcock was in the chair in chairman Roy Weaver’s absence.
Here are some snippets from the meeting: ❚ Sport Taranaki’s Therese Campbell and Steve ‘Coach’’ McKean spoke to the committee about their hope of getting the New Zealand Breakers basketball team to play in New Plymouth in September. This would cost $23,000 - $15,000 for the contract and $8,000 for travel costs. The visit would include coaching for Taranaki basketball players and coaches. They were looking to the council for some help with the funding. The full council will look at the request at its meeting on August 1. ❚ After requests from the Taranaki DHB and Cancer Taranaki to extend smokefree areas in the CBD the committee decided to put signs up in the Huatoki Plaza and the uke Ariki Landing to remind people they are smokefree areas. In a tight - four votes to three vote - councillors decided not to bring a review of the smokefree in outdoor spaces policy forward, so it will be looked at next year. However, they agreed to signs being put up in the Huatoki Plaza and at the Puke Ariki Landing to remind people that these areas were smokefree. ❚ Between July 15 and August 15 the council will be consulting with ratepayers about its Gambling Venues Policy. The policy includes a ‘‘sinking lid’’ proposal to decrease the number of pokies in Waitara from 49 to 25, then cap it at 25. It is also looking to reduce the number of pokies in the rest of the district to 320, which, when combined with Waitara is 345 pokies in all. Currently the number of gaming machines in New Plymouth district is 369. ❚ Spokesmen from the four community boards, Kaitake, Clifton, Waitara and Inglewood all spoke about the consultation the boards had been doing to get their proposals to council to include in the Long Term Plan. This started a discussion on how ratepayers in the city ward communicated with the council since there was no community board. Councillor Mike Merrick informed the committee he had embarked on a ‘‘Journey through the suburbs’’ talking to all businesses in New Plymouth and Bell Block to find out what their issues were. Already the main one was parking, he said. He would report back his findings in a couple of months. ❚ The committee supported, in principal, the introduction of online voting for future elections and informing Local Government New Zealand it would be happy to take part in any future online trials. Only 47.48 per cent of New Plymouth voters had their say at the election, last year, so councillors being able to vote online might mean more people would vote. The full council will discuss this further when it meets on August 1. ❚ The committee agreed to the introduction of an agility fee of $200,000. This is would enable the council to act quickly should an occasion arise outside the council’s planning cycle.