Sponge City is a group exhibition addressing urban resilience against the adverse weather effects of climate change. As feelings of unease escalate around the global climate crisis the need to take urgent action is critical, as can be felt throughout Tāmaki Makaurau after the recent extreme weather events.

As the title suggests, this exhibition highlights the ways that plants and healthy soils, like those within wetlands, can absorb heavy rain and release water slowly, therefore reducing the impacts of flooding. There are many wetlands in the region of Te Hau Kapua that need to be protected so that they may continue to shield the whenua from the increased changes to our weather systems.

Through the artform of printmaking, this collaborative exhibition addresses the recent flooding that our city has experienced and how this natural disaster impacted our communities. The artists of Hard-pressed Collective challenge the traditional boundaries of printmaking to respond to our expanding environmental changes. To create the work, they have used environmentally friendly strategies, such as using eco-printing processes, incorporating locally sourced natural plant pigments, and utilising recycled and waste materials.

The artists in this exhibition are working collaboratively with Restoring Takarunga Hauraki to deliver educational material about how we can preserve our wetlands and restore their biodiversity to increase our knowledge on tending to the whenua we are responsible for. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to take away a native plant to help enhance the biodiversity of their own backyards.