18 July 2024
City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi is partnering with National Library Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, to continue to bring exhibitions to Wellington while the gallery is temporarily away from home.
Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington Tumu Whakarae Diana Marsh says the agreement with National Library, part of Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs, allows the gallery to continue to bring art to the people of Wellington and visitors to the city until it returns home to Te Ngākau Civic Square in 2026.
The first exhibition will be The Letter: Julian Hooper from 24 August to 16 November 2024. This new exhibition from the Tāmaki Makaurau-based artist, celebrates and interrogates the endlessly iterative nature of the alphabet and features paintings, works on paper and a new foldout alphabet frieze that visitors can take away and put on their wall at home. Initially developed for City Gallery’s building in Te Ngākau Civic Square, it is a good fit for the new location at the National Library.
It is one of a series of exhibitions that will be delivered through 2024 and 2025. City Gallery Wellington will use the National Library Gallery on Molesworth Street and draw on its own resources to deliver exhibitions, programmes, learning programmes and promotion.
The gallery is leaving home after Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington learned in March that Council would be closing the main access from Victoria Street to Te Ngākau Civic Square in June, to accommodate the demolition of the Civic Administration Building.
“This closure will make it almost impossible to get art in or out of the gallery. It will also have a huge impact on our visitor numbers with significantly limited access to the square and foot traffic dropping dramatically, along with increased noise and disruption from the demolition. We have a responsibility to protect art in our care to international best practice standards and we are aware that dust from demolition work would make it difficult to meet our agreed lender standards”, says Diana Marsh.
“We have worked swiftly to pivot and partner with institutions across Wellington. We are grateful to our arts whānau for their support and delighted to be able to announce our partnership with National Library.”
Te Pouhuaki National Librarian Rachel Esson says the National Library is pleased to be able to play an active role in supporting the City Gallery through this arrangement.
“Many people are not aware that the Library holds a large collection of art works and we look forward to working with our City Gallery colleagues to amplify each other’s strengths. We hope that gallery regulars who aren’t as familiar with the Library will take the opportunity to explore this end of town and what we have on offer.”
City Gallery’s partnerships with Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and The Dowse Art Gallery were announced in April.
City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi will show Generation X: 50 Artworks from the Chartwell Collection at Te Papa from 27 July to 20 October 2024. This big, noisy group show features contemporary art made by Gen X artists with works drawn from one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant contemporary art collections, The Chartwell Collection, itself a member of Gen X. Chartwell celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and the works in this celebratory show burn brightly like candles on a birthday cake. The show will be supported by the Chartwell Trust and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi will show Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days presented in partnership with The Dowse Art Museum from 28 September 2024 to 26 January 2025. This is the first exhibition of the work of internationally renowned UK artist and gay rights activist Derek Jarman in Aotearoa. The exhibition has been co-developed with Gus Fisher Gallery. The exhibition will feature some of Jarman’s most influential works including paintings and films, alongside a suite of photographs that focus on his iconic Prospect Cottage and garden. The show has been funded with the lead support of Tony Kerridge and Micheal Do, with additional support of City Gallery Wellington Foundation, The University of Auckland Foundation, the Delphinium Days Exhibition Circle and the British Council. With thanks to the Keith Collins Will Trust and Amanda Wilkinson, London.
Diana Marsh says these multi-partner opportunities will take the gallery into new spaces and put it in front of new audiences so it can continue to play an important role as a place of discussion in the heart of the city and beyond.
“City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi has been in Te Ngākau for 30 years, but we are much more than the building. As Council’s Arts and Heritage organisation we will continue to find ways to do what we do best – offer exhibitions with an edge to test art’s boundaries, challenge our audiences and invite debate.
“We might be leaving the building temporarily, but we will continue to bring art to Wellington. We look forward to bringing these new audiences back to Te Ngākau when we return to a much-improved, future-proofed building in 2026.”