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On display from 12 April till 2 June, 2019; a solo exhibition Attitude towards encountering nature by Sena Park and Shifting landscapes a group exhibition featuring Dieneke Jansen, Qiane Matata-Sipu, Jean Stewart and Emily Hartley-Skudder.

Group exhibition Shifting landscapes takes its cue from artists who make commentary on issues of social justice, resistance, occupation, and advocacy for the visibility of local voices. Openly responding to the changing spaces around them, the artists employ photography, moving image, painting and sculpture to bring about much needed discussion about the changing social and physical landscape of Tāmaki Makaurau.

First inhabited by Māori around the mid 1300’s, Tāmaki Makaurau is now the largest urban area in Aotearoa. With a large percentage of the Aoteroa population living in Tāmaki, the government continues to implement housing and suburban changes which are detrimental to the marginalised communities already living in areas of development primarily through forced relocation, the rising cost of living and the ever-changing state of government benefits.

Responding to a shift in their visual landscape, Sena Park’s Attitude towards encountering nature is an immersive installation that explores the artist’s experience of culture shock whilst undertaking a residency in the unfamiliar territory of Mongolia. With a preconceived idealisation of the natural landscape of Mongolia, the artist found the reality of the stark change in environment and social structure was much harder to become accustomed to than what she had envisioned. Through a series of tactile experiments which fuse natural and man-made materials together, Park makes sense of her encounter in a foreign land. The resulting body of work is an exploration of those unexpected feelings of mutual disorientation and wonder.

Shifting landscapes and Attitude towards encountering nature give physical and visual form to the artists’ experiences, painting a bigger picture of what it means to be confronted with a change of habitat. Through these exhibitions, we hope to encourage the viewer to think about the World around them. We look forward to delving more into these ideas through conversation and we hope to see you at our free public programme events.

As part of our public programme, Saturday 13th April come and create your very own badge to share your thoughts on living in Tāmaki Makaurau, and on Saturday 4^th May join us in the gallery at our annual Kids Arts Festival for an introductory screening of Nuku, a multimedia series that is challenging the way we view kickass Indigenous women, allowing them to form their own narratives. Founder and Creator Qiane Matata-Sipu will also be present to give a talk and explain the project after the screening.

-ENDS- 

EXHIBITIONS DETAILS:

Exhibition dates: 12 April to 3 June, 2019 open 7 days a week, 10.00am – 4:30pm

Entry: Free, all welcome

PUBLIC PROGRAMMES DURING THE EXHIBITION:

1. Exhibition opening

Thursday 11 April, 6-8pm

Please join us for the opening reception of Attitude towards encountering nature by Sena Park, and Shifting landscapes a group exhibition featuring Dieneke Jansen, Qiane Matata-Sipu, Jean Stewart and Emily Hartley-Skudder.

Entry: Free, all welcome, in the Homestead Galleries.

2. Saturday Gallery Club #47

Saturday 13 April, between 10.30am and 12pm

We all have a voice and sometimes this voice can be heard through short but effective quotes! Come and create your very own badge to share your thoughts on living in Tāmaki Makaurau.

3. Saturday Gallery Club #48

Saturday 11 May, between 10.30am and 12pm

Inspired by artist Sena Park’s residency in Mongolia, come and explore the current sculptural installation and then create your own responsive 3D dreamscape of Mongolia.

• : Free, for kids and families, all art material provided. This is a drop in art activity, no bookings needed, in the Homestead Galleries.

*More information about the Saturday Gallery Club for kids and families

These free and fun family art-making sessions happen in the gallery every SECOND Saturday of the month. Art activities are designed for children aged 4 and upwards and families the activity runs for around 30 minutes. These sessions are family friendly and children need to be accompanied by an adult.

4. NUKU Introduction and Artist Talk 

Saturday 4 May, between 11.00am and 12pm

NUKU is a new multimedia series by exhibiting artist Qiane Matata-Sipu. Come along to see a trailer for the first ten profiles in the series, which will profile 100 Indigenous women. After the trailer, Qiane will give a talk about the project and her work

5. Pencil to Paper – Still life drawing club

The last Saturday of every month we will be exploring our latest exhibitions with a FREE 1 hour drawing club for Adults. So bring a friend to spend some time, learning simple drawing and sketching techniques in a relaxing environment.

27 April, 12-1pm

Architecture on the Estate

23rd May, 11-12pm

Interior drawing inside our Church building

Bookings are essential: Limited spaces available – Materials provided

Image caption: Pencil to paper workshop (2018), Courtesy of CEAC