Gallery realisation of lofty goals
New Toi Mahara gallery opens to Kā piti public
Here at Toi Mahara, the collection will be accessible to all art lovers, local, national and international. Kay Brown
The redevelopment of the Toi Mahara art gallery in Waikanae is a story of partnership, determination, commitment and creativity, Kā piti District Mayor Janet Holborow said during the opening ceremony.
She cut a ribbon to open the new building — the district public gallery for Kāpiti — last Saturday following a two-year rebuilding programme.
Holborow quoted a whakatauki or Mā ori proverb about bowing to a lofty mountain.
“This whakatauki is about aiming high for what is truly valuable, but its real message is about being persistent in the face of obstacles,” she said.
“This gallery was indeed a lofty goal and there were many obstacles.
“But here we are in the new Toi Mahara.”
She described the new building as a “gallery for the district, the centre for our creative community, the home of the Field Collection and all the arts on the Kāpiti Coast.”
The project has been a partnership involving the Mahara Gallery Trust Board, Kāpiti Coast District Council and the Field Collection Trust.
It was triggered more than 20 years ago by the Field Collection Trust’s offer to gift the collection to Toi Mahara on condition it be upgraded to accepted museum standard.
The collection of 44 artworks contains 24 by Frances Hodgkins. It represents the largest collection of Hodgkins’ works in public ownership
outside Te Papa and the Auckland and Dunedin art galleries.
Holborow also acknowledged the contribution of construction firm Crowe Construction in completing the project on time and on budget.
The Mahara Gallery Trust Board raised two-thirds of the $6.5 million
project cost — including substantial grants from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the NZ Lottery Grants Board — while the district council contributed the remaining third.
Field Collection trustee Kay Brown said over the years the collection had
known many homes — some more secure than others.
“But now at long last, we hope it is secure in its forever home. They say good things take time. Here at Toi Mahara, the collection will be accessible to all art lovers, local, national and international.”
Mahara Gallery Trust Board chairman Gordon Shroff likened himself to the last runner in a relay race who got to mount the podium.
“But the fact is that our success today in bringing this long-standing kaupapa to fruition is built on the efforts of our predecessors.”
Holborow was joined in cutting the ribbon by 7-year-old Ella Hawea who lives in Frances St, Waikanae, and shares her April birthday with Frances Hodgkins.
Also part of the ceremony were representatives of the Mahara Gallery Trust Board, the Field Collection Trust and newly appointed Toi Mahara patron Darcy Nicholas.
After the ribbon cutting, a pou whakairo — a free-standing carved figure created by Ō taki master carver Chris Gerretzen (Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai) — was unveiled in the gallery foyer and the opening exhibitions blessed by kaumatua (koro) Don Te Maipi.
The new gallery is built on the same footprint as its predecessor, but provides double the number of exhibition galleries and almost three times the exhibition space.