Christchurch Art Gallery

43°31′50″S 172°37′52″E / 43.53056°S 172.63111°E / -43.53056; 172.63111Inaugurated10 May 2003OwnerChristchurch City CouncilDesign and constructionArchitecture firmBuchan Group

The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New Zealand and international exhibitions. It is funded by Christchurch City Council. The gallery opened on 10 May 2003,^[1] replacing the city's previous public art gallery, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, which had opened in 1932.

The Māori elements of the name are explained as follows: Te Puna honours waipuna, the artesian spring beneath the gallery and Waiwhetu refers to one of the tributaries in the immediate vicinity, which flows into the River Avon. Waiwhetu may also be translated as 'water in which stars are reflected'.^{[2][better source needed]}

History

The previous public art gallery, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery,^[3] opened on 16 June 1932 and closed on 16 June 2002.^[4] It was located in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, adjacent to Canterbury Museum, where the building still stands unused, as of 2019.^[5]

Christchurch City Council committed funds to buying land for a new gallery in 1995 and purchased the Christchurch Art Gallery site in 1996. A competition to design the new gallery was launched in 1998.^[6]

The building

The gallery's building was designed by the Buchan Group. The gallery's forecourt has a large sculpture, Reason for Voyaging,^[7] which was the result of a collaboration between the sculptor Graham Bennett and the architect David Cole.^[8]

The building was used as Civil Defence headquarters for Christchurch following the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, and again after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The gallery was designed to deal with seismic events. The gallery's foundation, a concrete raft slab that sits on the surface of the ground, evenly distributes earthquake forces. However, it sustained some damage during the earthquake.^[9] The gallery building was used as a Civil Defence headquarters for seven months after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and did not reopen until 19 December 2015 due to the need for extensive refurbishments and improvements.^[10]

Directors

Although the Robert McDougall Art Gallery opened in 1932, the first paid director, William Baverstock, was appointed in 1960 (he had previously served as honorary curator from 1949).^[6]

• 1960–1969: William Baverstock (1893–1975)
• 1969–1979: Brian Muir (1943–1989)
• 1979–1981: T. L. Rodney Wilson (1945–2013)
• 1981–1995: John Coley
• 1995–2006: Tony Preston
• 2006–2018: Jenny Harper (b. 1950)^[11]
• 2018–present: Blair Jackson^[12]

Gallery

• 
  Interior of Christchurch Art Gallery
• 
  Gallery's foyer
• 
  View of foyer from upstairs
• 
  Gallery space
• 
  Gallery space
• 
  Side view of gallery with Martin Creed's "Everything Is Going To Be Alright" artwork, 2020
• 
  Reasons for voyaging, a sculpture on the gallery's forecourt
• 
  Michael Parekōwhai's 2011 sculpture "Chapman's Homer"

References

External links

Earthquakes

Located in or near Christchurch	June 1869 September 2010 Boxing Day 2010 February 2011 June 2011 December 2011 February 2016
Located elsewhere causing damage in Christchurch	1855 Wairarapa 1881 Castle Hill 1888 North Canterbury 1901 Cheviot 1922 Motunau 2016 Kaikōura

Buildings

Lost	Bus Exchange Christchurch Central Library Te Pae Convention Centre Crowne Plaza The Civic Clarendon Tower Cranmer Centre Cranmer Court CTV Building Durham Street Methodist Church Excelsior Hotel Guthrey Centre Hornby Clocktower Hotel Grand Chancellor Linwood House Lyttelton Borough Council Chambers Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building Lyttelton Times Building Majestic Theatre Manchester Courts Oxford Terrace Baptist Church PGC building Press Building St John's Church St Luke's Church St Paul's Church Warner's Hotel Weston House Westpac Canterbury Centre Wharetiki House
Demolition	Implosion of Radio Network House Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Central Police Station Lancaster Park Music Centre of Christchurch Twinkle Toes
Damaged with uncertain future	Antonio Hall Odeon Theatre
Remaining	Antigua Boat Sheds Arts Centre (Dux de Lux, Registry Building) Bridge of Remembrance Canterbury Club Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings Chief Post Office Christchurch Art Gallery ChristChurch Cathedral Christchurch Club St Michael Church Citizens' War Memorial City Mall Curator's House Forsyth Barr Building Godley Statue Isaac Theatre Royal Knox Church McDougall Art Gallery McLean's Mansion Midland Club Building New Brighton Pier New Regent Street Lyttelton Timeball Station Old Government Building Our City Peterborough Centre Public Trust Building Riccarton House Rolleston Statue Scott Statue Shand's Emporium Sign of the Kiwi St Saviour's Chapel Town Hall Trinity Congregational Church Victoria Clock Tower Victoria Mansions Worcester Chambers
New	185 empty chairs (unofficial memorial) Cardboard Cathedral Christchurch Catholic Cathedral Pallet Pavilion Re:START
Lists	historic places tall buildings

Land

Categories	Central City Red Zone Residential red zone (East Lake) TC3
Suburbs worst affected	Central City Avonside Avondale Dallington Bexley Southshore Brooklands Kaiapoi

People

Associated with earthquakes	Ann Brower Gerry Brownlee Kaila Colbin Clayton Cosgrove Ruth Dyson Antony Gough John Hamilton Andrew Holden Warwick Isaacs Sam Johnson André Lovatt Neil MacLean Tony Marryatt John Ombler Bob Parker Nigel Priestley Mark Quigley Alan Reay Ken Ring Gerald Shirtcliff Roger Sutton Deon Swiggs Coralie Winn
Died in earthquake	Jo Giles Amanda Hooper

Recovery PlanOrganisations

Public sector	CCDU CERA Christchurch City Council Civil Defence Regenerate Christchurch SCIRT Selwyn District Council Waimakariri District Council
Private and voluntary sector	Farmy Army Gap Filler Greening the Rubble Ministry of Awesome Student Volunteer Army The Press

ServicesLegislationCommission of Inquiry