Christchurch Art Gallery

Part of the official name of the gallery in Maori can be interpreted as follows: Te Puna - “for the glory of waipuna”, an artesian source under the gallery; Waiwhetu - refers to one of the tributaries of the Avon River in the immediate vicinity of the gallery. Waiwhetu can also be translated as “water in which stars are reflected” ^[3] .

The first public art gallery was opened in Christchurch in 1932 and was named the Robert McDougall Art Gallery ^[2] . The gallery building, located in the botanical garden, worth £ 26,000, was donated to the city by the director of Aulsebrook and Co., Robert E. McDougall. The collection of the gallery was formed from the funds of the Canterbury Society of Collectors of British and European Painting and the Collection of James Jamieson, and totaled 160 paintings and sculptures ^{[4] [5]} .

In the early years, the emphasis in the gallery was placed on the exposition of this modest collection, which gradually expanded due to gifts, bequeathed and bought out works of art. Until 1949, the gallery hosted only a few temporary exhibitions ^[2] . Then, W.S. Baverstock was appointed honorary curator of the gallery, and a program of various shows and events began to be held in the gallery. Since the 1950s, an important part of this program has been the holding of international exhibitions ^{[4] [2] [6]} . In 1969, after the appointment of Brian Muir as gallery director, a large exhibition program with the participation of New Zealand artists began to operate on an ongoing basis and a program of national visiting exhibition tours began to develop ^{[2] [7] [8]} .

For 12 years, from 1988 to 2000, the McDougall Art Gallery held an exhibition of contemporary art, Contemporary Art Annex , which was housed in the library of Canterbury College, which became part of the University of Canterbury (currently the Center for the Arts) ^{[4] [9] [10]} . Created under the direction of one of the former directors of the art gallery, John Coley, this exposition was intended to showcase the work of contemporary artists, especially Canterbury natives ^{[4] [11]} . At the end of November 2013, the contemporary art exhibition was run by the gallery of the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts Gallery , abbreviated SOFA ^[4] .

The Robert McDougall Art Gallery was closed to visitors on June 16, 2002, and on May 10, 2003, a new Christchurch Art Gallery was opened ^{[4] [12]} .

There is an extensive set of materials that allow you to get acquainted with the works of art in the gallery’s collection. Most of these materials are in the Robert and Barbara Stewart Library . Many materials are stored electronically. The collection of books consists of about 10,000 copies, in which special attention is paid to British art, prints and prints , as well as contemporary art in New Zealand. In addition, information is contained in 1,200 files on artists, which contain newspaper clippings, correspondence, invitations to exhibitions and photographs ^{[13] [14]} .

A large amount of information is presented on the gallery's website, including Bulletin ^{[15] [16]} , its predecessor Review ( English Survey ) ^[17] , catalogs of the Canterbury Society of Artists, magazines and all catalogs of The Group. All publications of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery are also available online ^[13] .

You can get acquainted with the library catalog of the gallery by searching the catalog of city libraries ^{[13] [18]} .

The Christchurch Art Gallery building located in the city ​​center has become one of the city's attractions. The building is made of glass and metal, repeating in its forms the bends of the Avon River, near which it is located. The gallery building houses nine exhibition areas, a thematic library, a multi-purpose audience, classrooms, an underground parking lot, a restaurant, several retail outlets and spacious storage for works of art ^[19] .

Exhibition rooms are located on two levels, which are connected by a marble staircase located in the lobby of the gallery. The foyer itself is dominated by large-scale glazing to the ceiling. In front of the gallery building there is a large installation called Reasons for Voyaging, authored by the creative association of sculptor Graham Bennett and architect David Cole ^{[19] [20]} . There are also trees planted and a recreation area.

Building History

The city’s art collection was initially housed in the Robert McDougall Art Gallery in the Christchurch Botanical Garden ^[4] . However, over time, the McDougall Gallery became increasingly unsuitable for the storage and display of the existing collection. In 1996, a plot was purchased between the streets of Montreal Street and Worcester Boulevard for the construction of a new building ^{[19] [12]} .

In 1998, a competition was announced for the best project of a new art gallery. Such a competition was held for the first time in 50 years since the construction of a specially designed art museum in New Zealand. The requirements for the project were not the most difficult: the participants had to be architects registered in New Zealand, and the new building was supposed to provide the required functionality with a given budget. The decision to choose a project with a spectacular glass facade was unanimous. This project was presented by Buchan Group ^{[19] [12]} .

The Australian company Buchan Group, headquartered in Melbourne , had at that time great architectural practice. The company participated in several significant projects of the 1990s, including the construction of the Southgate complex in Melbourne, the reconstruction of the historic building of the Sydney Central Post Office and the creation of the master plan for the Victoria Arts Center , Melbourne ^{[ 19] [21]} .

Despite the fact that during the architectural competition doubts were expressed regarding the appearance of a modern building in the area with the prevailing Victorian Gothic architecture, the gallery became one of the most recognizable buildings in Christchurch ^[19] .

Earthquakes

The gallery building was used as the headquarters of the civil defense during the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 ^{[22] [23]} .

In 2011, the building withstood all the tremors and remained safe enough so that it could continue to work. After the state of emergency was declared, from February 2011 to August 2011, in addition to the GO headquarters, hundreds of workers from the Christchurch City Council and , CERA ^{[19] [24] [25]} were stationed here.

An additional problem was the potential threat to works of art arising from the demolition of buildings adjacent to the gallery. In September 2011, gallery employees took steps to move the entire collection from more than 6,400 works of art to safer places in the building. Then all the people were evacuated, and the gallery building was closed to visitors. It nevertheless received some damage after the earthquake, which will take time to eliminate. Since the Christchurch Art Gallery is a rather large building, the complex repair work of the building is scheduled for the opening in 2015 ^[19] .

Nevertheless, despite the fact that at the end of November 2013 the main building of the gallery was closed for reconstruction, the gallery continued to work and held exhibitions of works in different parts of the city under the auspices of the Outer Spaces program ^{[19] [26] [27]} .

• Illustrated catalog of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery 1931 . - Whitcombe & Tombs Limited, 1931 .-- 62 p.
• Michael Dunn. New Zealand Painting: A Concise History . - Auckland University Press, 2003 .-- 218 p. - ISBN 1869402979 , 9781869402976.
• Karen Stevenson The Frangipani is Dead: Contemporary Pacific Art in New Zealand, 1985-2000 . - Huia Publishers, 2008 .-- 228 p. - ISBN 1869693256 , 9781869693251.

• Gallery website (English)