Art of finding true north
New Zealand’s northernmost city is much more than just a stepping stone to the north, writes Mary de Ruyter.
People come to Northland for the beaches, bush walks and majestic kauri. And fair enough, too – they’re pretty special. Most of those visitors only stop in Wha¯ nga¯ rei long enough to stock up on essentials, or for a quick wander around the Town Basin.
But there’s more to the city than that. From crafts to contemporary art, a thriving art scene is developing in this northern city, and it’s all free to explore.
Quarry Arts Centre
The words ramshackle and rustic were surely invented to describe the vibe at this community arts centre, nestled in the decommissioned Waldron’s Quarry.
In 14 studios dotted around the grounds, artists create work from paintings and fine-art prints to ceramics, jewellery and woodturning. It’s an altogether lovely place to meander, with pı¯wakawaka flitting past and bush-covered cliffs all around.
A huge wood-fired kiln named Julie-Ann is a central feature of the site, though she’s fired up only a few times a year.
It takes several days to prepare her, and she burns at full blast (1200-1300 degrees Celsius) for two days. Some people sleep in their cars to stoke the flames through the night.
The late Yvonne Rust, a Northland potter and teacher, was the driving force behind establishing the centre, and her name lives on in the Yvonne Rust Gallery.
Twice a year, resident artists show their work there, and sell it year-round at the co-operative store. There’s a cafe, regular workshops, and a shop selling clays, glazes and ceramics tools.
Bonus points for convenience: it’s just off Western Hills Drive and the main road north.
Wha¯nga¯rei Art Museum
Tucked inside the Town Basin’s visitor information centre on Dent St, this place can be difficult to spot. But it’s worth the hunt to visit Northland’s flagship public art gallery.
The art museum offers a mix of small, interesting exhibitions, internally curated and touring from other institutions. Its collection includes works from Charles F Goldie,
Ralph Ho¯ tere, Milan Mrkusich, Greer Twiss, and Adele Younghusband, though what you’ll see varies according to the exhibitions, which rotate every three months.
Current offerings include works by Tony Fomison; a Northland artist’s exploration of identity, family and history; a colourful interactive sculpture; and a digital work transforming images of nature into hybrid new forms.
A Manos Nathan sculpture, Kaitiaki, welcomes visitors at the front door.
Hihiaua Cultural Centre
Many years in the making, Hihiaua Cultural Centre is a centre for Ma¯ ori arts and cultural excellence. The first stage opened in the middle of last year and comprised space for workshops in traditional Ma¯ ori carving and other crafts, an art gallery and a shop.
It’s on a peninsula bordered by the Ha¯ tea River and the Waiarohia Stream – a perfect launching pad for the impressive waka also on site.
In times past, people from Te Uriroroi, Te Parawhau and Nga¯ ti Kahu used the area as a landing place for their canoes.
So far, the gallery has hosted exhibitions of carving, weaving, painting, and mixed-media works. Ma¯ ori and Pacific artists feature strongly, though other cultures are also welcome. The shop sells elegant items of bone, pounamu and feather, paintings, prints, weaving, and wood carving.
Ha¯tea Loop Walkway and Town Basin
Spend any time on the 4.2km Ha¯ tea Loop Walkway and you’ll encounter locals out jogging and cycling.
You’ll probably begin to feel like you should be exercising. Resist the urge: walking is a completely acceptable pace at which to explore the riverside walkway’s sculpture trail.
The 16 sculptures dotted around the walkway, plus the eight-metre-high camera obscura under construction, form roughly half of the works in Wha¯ nga¯ rei’s public sculpture and art offering. Pick up a map from the information centre, or find it on the WhangareiNZ website.
Punga, by locals Kim Groeneveld and Trent Morgan, represents the history and presence of local Ma¯ ori by referencing a hı¯naki (eel trap), while the poles, steel and rope acknowledge the marina that operates nearby today. Like many public sculptures worldwide, it has also become a de-facto climbing frame for energetic kids.
At Hihiaua Point, the entrance to Wha¯ nga¯ rei’s Town Basin, Wave and Waka depicts a waka breaking through a rising wave.
Made entirely from stone, the work was a collaboration between two renowned sculptors: Chris Booth (who also created the Rainbow Warrior Memorial at Matauri Bay) and tohunga carver Te Wa¯ rihi Hetaraka, co-founder of the nearby Hihiaua Cultural Centre.
At the walkway’s northern end, the Town Basin is home to yachts, cawing seagulls, restaurants, cafes and artistic outlets.
Steve Haywood Master Jeweller sells handcrafted jewellery, plus pieces by selected Northland artists.
The Bach offers everything from locally made leather bags and Kiwiana art, to weaving and ceramics.
Burning Issues Gallery focuses mainly on luminously coloured glass works. On some days you can watch glass blower Keith Grinter at work out the back (phone ahead to check first).
Reyburn House, built in the 1870s and a Category 2-listed historic building, has been home to the Northland Society of Arts since 1966. There, you’ll find exhibitions that change monthly and works for sale.
But the biggest news in town is the Hundertwasser Art Centre and Wairau Maori Art Gallery.
Under construction, it’s slated for completion late next year, and will be a spectacular sight.
Austrian-born artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser detested straight lines and designed colourful buildings that mimicked the curving, organic forms found in nature.
The centre will be the only place outside Vienna to house a permanent exhibition of original Hundertwasser works, and it will also feature New Zealand’s first gallery dedicated solely to contemporary Ma¯ ori art.
Next to the construction site sits Te Ka¯ kano (The Seed), an architectural sculpture in the shape of a koru. Built in 2016, it was the testing ground for
artisans to practise Hundertwasser’s unique methods of construction, tiling and bricklaying. It features his signature ceramic columns and a green roof, and it’s an exciting hint of things to come.
Around town
MD Gallery is on a mission to showcase the ‘‘inspiring array of talent that resides in the north’’ through solo and group shows, according to curator and owner Megan Dickinson.
Past exhibitions have included contemporary jewellery, ceramics, photochemical drawing, and landscape photography.
In a gorgeous villa not far from the central city, Hangar Art and Framing hosts six small exhibitions a year from local artists and craftspeople. Expect painting, prints, ceramics, jewellery, and glass art.
NorthTec’s Geoff Wilson Gallery displays contemporary art from the institution’s art students, plus Northland artists and invited New Zealand artists. It’s located just off State
Highway 1 on the southern approach to the city.
Last year, Wha¯ nga¯ rei’s first street art festival resulted in the Manaia St art trail, a series of 15 large-scale art murals that brighten up the city.
To learn the stories behind the murals, download the map from WhangareiNZ.com, or pick up one from The Hub Information Centre in the Town Basin.
As the #wittleart quote says, ‘‘Just because it is not in a museum does not mean it is not art’’.
Further afield
The annual Wha¯ nga¯ rei Heads Arts Trail is usually held over Easter, where artists around picturesque
Wha¯ nga¯ rei Heads open their studios and you can buy direct from them.
Covid-19 put paid to that, but the team behind the event is developing an online trail/shop (whangareiheadsartstrail.org.nz), so you can buy from the artist, and potentially pick up from the studio if you’re in the area.
Approximately 35 minutes north of Wha¯ nga¯ rei, the Gallery and Cafe Helena Bay Hill is a destination in itself– for its outlook across bushclad ridges to the sea, and the bright, busy gallery.
Outside, sculptures are weighty and whimsical, already weathered by the elements.
Inside, the walls are crowded from floor to ceiling with work by New Zealand, and Northland, artists. You’ll find cheerful mosaics and abstract copper creations, beachscapes and blown glass, nostalgia and new ideas.
Even if you aren’t in the market for something, it’s an inspiring place to explore.