Tauranga Art Gallery Trust Chair Rosemary Protheroe has announced that the gallery is to be redeveloped as part of Tauranga’s future civic precinct, Te Manawataki o Te Papa.

In time, this will contribute to the full richness and diversity of Tauranga arts, culture and heritage which will be able to be experienced on completion of the civic precinct.

Set to begin later this year, the redevelopment will see the orientation of the art gallery turn to face Masonic Park with a new entrance that will blur the boundaries between inside and out. It will create a more welcoming environment alongside a new café and expanded retail experience.

Tauranga Art Gallery Director Sonya Korohina says “how our artists exhibit and community connects with art has changed. This redevelopment is an exciting opportunity to take us into the future as both a great space to experience art programmes and a more social space too.”

Sonya says the interior layout will largely remain the same, with the education room moving to the Wharf and Willow Street side, creating a separate entrance for the popular schools and art studio programmes.

To ensure the education programme is not interrupted by the build, a temporary pop-up space at 42-44 Devonport will open mid-July at the start of term 3. The Pop-Up will include an exhibition and a multi-purpose events and education space. The Art Bus will bring children to visit, as well as Tauranga Library across the road. It will remain open until the main building project is complete.

While closed, the art gallery will take the opportunity to upgrade lighting, air-conditioning and an interior fit-out. This will enable it to maintain international museum standards, a requirement to be able to loan artworks from institutions such as Te Papa. This will be the first time work has been undertaken since opening in 2007.

Read more about Tauranga Art Gallery’s redevelopment and Pop-Up here.

IMAGES:
Tauranga Art Gallery, 2022 (Photo by Sam Hartnett)
Sonya Korohina and Rosemary Protheroe, Tauranga Art Gallery, 2023 (Photo by Alan Gibson)

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