Celebrating a new platform for Hawke’s Bay Art

Forbidden Flesh by Nephi Tupaea, on display at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery. Photo / Max Bull photography

Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery has opened an inaugural biennial exhibition that supports and celebrates contemporary artists living and working in Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay.

Building on the past success of the EAST biennial, Te Matau-a-Māui Contemporary Art: Gwen Malden Trust Commissions features four outstanding artists thanks to a new partnership with the Gwen Malden Charitable Trust.

Artists Leslie Falls, Nephi Tupaea (Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Tiipa, Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Ngāti Kahungunu), Te Kīra Whakamoe (Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani) and Bernie Winkels have each received $10,000 to develop a new body of work.

The support has enabled the artists to focus more energy on their practices, and in some cases to expand the scale of their work, and to research, experiment and work with new kinds of materials. The resulting exhibition features painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, video, installation and sound, with the unique perspective of each artist shining through. The artists will retain full ownership of their works.

The Gwen Malden Trust is a “general purpose” charity that funds a wide range of activities for the benefit of the people of Hawke’s Bay. Gwen Malden studied painting at the Christchurch School of Art and was a visionary supporter of the arts.

Responding to a shifting climate for artists and creative practice, a focus in this new partnership is on investing in the creation of new artwork – from its inception through to exhibition – and enabling audiences to get inside the creative process. Alongside the exhibition is a programme of public talks, workshops, and educational opportunities for visitors of all ages where audiences can make connections and get hands-on.

Leslie Falls has created two drawing activities for families to explore her work during the exhibition. She will also lead a workshop titled “Drawing with Thread: Revisiting Miniature Portraiture” for adults on Saturday, November 2. Primary school groups will have the opportunity to join special workshops with Bernie Winkels.

Nephi Tupaea will offer a workshop for youth and teen mothers, while both Nephi Tupaea and Te Kīra Whakamoe will host a life drawing session for the rainbow community. Additionally, the gallery’s education team has developed programmes inspired by each artist’s work, as well as a programme dedicated to Gwen Malden’s life as an artist.

The four recipients of the 2024 Gwen Malden Trust Commissions were selected by a panel of contemporary art advocates, convened by the gallery, balancing local knowledge with outside perspectives: Serena Bentley (senior curator Tauranga Art Gallery), Ayesha Green (artist), Aaron Lister (senior curator City Gallery Wellington) and Sacha van den Berg (gallerist and founder of Hastings’ Ākina gallery).

The panel agreed Leslie Falls, Nephi Tupaea, Te Kīra Whakamoe and Bernie Winkels have all made unique contributions to the creative community and it was a great opportunity to honour this and celebrate them. This group of artists explore relationships to the natural world, to history, memory and self-determination, to the forms of labour and infrastructure which shape our daily lives. The exhibition will give audiences the chance to experience a breadth of contemporary art in Te Matau-a-Māui.

The exhibition runs until November 4.

Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery is open to the public every Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and is free to enter.

Go to www.hastingscityartgallery.co.nz to find out more about this exhibition and what else is happening at the gallery.