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National | Art

Wairau Māori Art Gallery opens in Whangārei's Hundertwasser building

The Wairau Māori Art Gallery opened its doors in the Hundertwasser Art Centre at the weekend, with an estimated 400 visitors on the first day.

"And they weren't all Māori. New Zealand came to visit. We're very proud of that," says Elizabeth Ellis, chair of the trust responsible for Wairau.

It is the first public gallery dedicated to exhibiting and promoting the works of Māori artists.

Ellis is unsure why it's taken so long to have a gallery exclusively for Māori but says is a reflection of the changing nature of Aotearoa.

"There was Te Papa, there have always been galleries that have shown Māori art in them but not a dedicated gallery. This one is for Māori artists, this one is for Māori curators. And this one has 12 trustees who are Māori.

"And in time with our three exhibitions a year, we will have artists from across the country showing their work."

One hundred waters

The name of the gallery is a reflection of the partnership Wairau has with the Hundertwasser Foundation in Austria, the home of Friedensreich Hundertwasser whose design was used for the art centre, on the condition of having a Māori gallery included.

"Patu Hohepa, who is one of our trustees named the gallery Wairau, because it means one hundred waters, and the name Hundertwasser means a hundred waters in German," she said.

As well as seeing exhibitions of the artworks of famous and upcoming Māori artists, visitors will be exposed to educational opportunities works.

"At various times during the next few months they [the artists] will visit and talk about their works. They will spread the word about Māori art and why they're engaged in creative work.

"There are activities that go on during the time that the exhibition is up. Sometimes they'll have a symposium."

The first exhibition Puhi Ariki, curated by former Auckland Art Gallery curator Māori, Nigel Borrell, features artworks by leading Māori artists Ralph Hotere, Emily Karaka and Israel Birch among others and runs until Matariki, June 4.

A second exhibition will then be created, co-curated by Borrell and Dowse Art Museum Director Karl Chitham.

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