Prime Minister Bill English Meets with HAC Project Team
Whangarei’s Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Maori Art Gallery takes centre stage on Prime Minister’s Northland
visit
WHANGAREI: Prime Minster Bill English says he is impressed and excited by plans for the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Maori
Art Gallery after meeting with the project team in Whangarei on Friday.
The Prime Minister met with the Prosper Northland Trust, members of the Wairau Maori Art Gallery Board (WMAG), the HAC
project team and the Whangarei Art Museum Trust to discuss the project and plans for achieving its upcoming June 30th
deadline.
Mr English’s visit came at the request of Whangarei electoral MP Dr Shane Reti, who has been a vocal supporter of the
project.
The Prime Minister discussed all elements of the Hundertwasser Art Centre project, including the development of Te
Kakano – The Seed and the two distinct galleries that will be housed inside the building once complete.
After speaking with WMAG board chairwoman Elizabeth Ellis about the distinctiveness of the Wairau Maori Art Gallery, Mr
English said he was impressed by the ongoing opportunity it presented to Maori artists throughout New Zealand.
"I was involved in setting up the Eastern Southland Gallery in Gore. Bus loads are coming from Dunedin and Invercargill
and it is still going strong, so I can understand what you are trying to do," he told the group.
The Government committed $4 million to the construction of the Hundertwasser Art Centre at the start of 2016 as a part
of the Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan, which identified 58 actions to support and enable the growth of the
Northland economy.
ENDS
Hundertwasser Art Centre:
In 1993, Hundertwasser was invited by the Mayor of Whangarei to design an art centre for the city. He chose the former
Northland Harbour Board building in the Town Basin and made a number of visits to study the building and sketch his
ideas.
More than 20 years after inception and 16 years after his death, the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Maori Art
Gallery project is now in the final pre-construction stages.
Now a fully community-led project run solely by volunteers. Fundraising is currently underway, with $20.97 million
needed before construction can be started.
The HAC will be an iconic landmark on a grand scale and the last authentic Hundertwasser building in the world. Like the
artist’s work, this stunning building will be multi-faceted and multi-functional with features including a
state-of-the-art main gallery of Hundertwasser’s work, a contemporary Māori Art Gallery, café, cinema and student
resource centre.
The Wairau Maori Art Gallery will be one of two galleries inside the building, and the only one in the world that is
permanently dedicated to exhibiting contemporary Maori art. Exhibitions will rotate on a lively three-monthly schedule
and the Wairau Maori Art Gallery Board will work in partnership with the Whangarei Art Museum to plan exhibitions.
It is estimated that the Hundertwasser Art Centre will attract over 150,000 paying visitors a year with studies from
Northland Inc estimating The HAC will have an economic impact of $22mil a year for the region.
Visit www.yeswhangarei.co.nz for more information about the HAC with Wairau Maori Art Gallery project.