Delight at new gallery
Weekend of events in store to mark grand opening of venue after $6.5m transformation
After years of talking, planning and fundraising, the Toi Mahara public gallery in Waikanae officially opens this weekend. The idea of transforming the former Mahara Gallery into Toi Mahara happened a number of years ago when the Field Collection Trust gifted the Field Collection of 44 artworks by expatriate artist Frances Hodgkins and other artists.
It was gifted on the proviso the gallery was upgraded to enable the artworks to be in a temperaturecontrolled climate and the necessary security in place.
Constructing the two-storey Toi Mahara has cost about $6.5 million, with the funds coming from a number of channels including various grants, such as $2.1m from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, donations, fundraising initiatives, Kāpiti Coast District Council and Waikanae Community Board money, and more.
The result is a world-class gallery that is expected to attract local, national and international visitors.
Upstairs is the heritage gallery (Taonga Tuku Iho) where various Hodgkins and other artworks will be on display, a collection storage room (Te Kohinga) and a dedicated artistin-residence gallery (Ringa Toi), which features a small window looking out to Kāpiti Island.
The three rooms have a set temperature of between 20C and 22C and humidity of 50 to 55 per cent.
The jewels in the gallery crown are the 24 Hodgkins artworks.
“It’s the fourth-largest public collection of Frances Hodgkins artworks but the most accessible because our curator Vicki Robson is here and people can make an appointment to view a certain artwork,” Toi Mahara director Janet Bayley said.
The first exhibition in the heritage room won’t specifically focus on the Field Collection.
“We’ll be painting a picture of the first century of families, stories and communities that contributed to the settlement of Kāpiti. We’re trying to balance perhaps the perception of this 19th-century elite art collection with something of a broader interest.”
Downstairs is the Coastlands Gallery (Te Manawa Toi) for exhibitions, a multi-purpose community space (Wai Puna Toi), reception, retail area, loading bay and toilets.
The first exhibition in the Coastlands Gallery is of about 52 artworks from the Mahara Arts Review area, and the community space features works by Paekā kā riki School children.
There is a lift between both levels and a flight of stairs where the walls feature rimu panels recycled from the former gallery.
Bayley was “thrilled” Toi Mahara had become a reality.
“Finally we have got professional facilities, we’re able to expand our staff, we’ve rebranded and have a closer partnership with iwi, and there are lots of other aspects of Mahara itself which have been redeveloped through this process. It’s not just a physical building — it’s a reconsideration of its future.”
To celebrate Toi Mahara’s grand opening there will be a festival of events in Mahara Place, the shopping precinct outside the gallery, on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm.
A formal blessing of the new gallery takes place on Saturday at 11am before officially opening to the public from 12.30pm.