ĀKINA Gallery says goodbye to physical space in Hastings Municipal Building. Photo / Warren Buckland
ĀKINA Gallery says goodbye to physical space in Hastings Municipal Building. Photo / Warren Buckland
After eight months of opening, ĀKINA Gallery has decided to move its store online because having a physical space wasn’t viable or economical.
The new business set up shop in one of the newly renovated Hastings Municipal Buildings, but has decided that when its lease expires in July it won’t be renewing with the council.
Cyclone Gabriel has had a massive impact on the gallery, sales and visitor-wise, says gallery owner Sacha van den Berg. “Overnight things changed us, for everyone.”
ĀKINA Gallery will close its physical doors on July 13, exactly a year since it opened, and in time for the gallery to celebrate Matariki.
While the physical gallery may be closing, Sacha wants everyone to know “this is not the end, it is an evolution”.
Until July, ĀKINA Gallery will still be selling local artists’ work and hosting exhibitions. The gallery has a large stock of art pieces to sell before it closes, but some of the leftover artwork will stay with ĀKINA and go on its online store while others will be returned to the artists.
“We would love to see their work going to new homes rather than back to the studio. But I appreciate we are in a time where purchasing art is not a priority and I respect that,” Sacha said.
Artist Anna Jepson, ĀKINA Gallery's Sacha van den Berg, and artist Ruebena P. Paraha at the gallery in Hastings.
When asked how she was feeling about the change, Sacha told Hastings Leader she was excited and feeling positive.
“The timing feels right and ĀKINA has always set out to question and explore the role of the dealer gallery. I feel like we went pretty hard and fast, learnt a lot and achieved a lot in a small amount of time.
“Initially, I was devastated about closing but that feeling was quickly replaced by relief and positivity about changing things up.”
Moving online is going to be a new experience for the gallery owner and will give ĀKINA Gallery a chance to do more pop-up art exhibits throughout the year.
The online gallery will work like an online catalogue, with images and information about the artists and artworks. If people want more info, ĀKINA can provide that, and if they live locally or are happy to come to Hawke’s Bay, Sacha will offer showings in person.
Moving online, the gallery owner is planning to keep communication with its audience “rich and engaging”, keeping people up to date and bringing them along on the journey.
“We are most excited about shifting to a pop-up model for our exhibition shows, where we set up temporary exhibitions at various locations,” she said.
ĀKINA Gallery was inspired by the pop-up exhibition Ka Whaihanga, curated by Natalie Jones at John Scotts’ iconic Futuna Chapel in Wellington.
“Having pop-up shows allows us to do things a bit differently, be more creative and respond to the various spaces and environments we will be in. It could be an empty shop, a hall, outside, or in another city in Aotearoa,” Sacha said.
The long-term goal for Sacha is to get the gallery’s artists showing overseas. “We have a visit to Brighton, UK and Amsterdam coming up next year which is really exciting.”
ĀKINA Gallery will host Nephi Tupaea's first solo exhibition as the gallery’s last. Photo / Supplied
While the closing of the physical space is almost like the end of an era for ĀKINA Gallery in some ways, it also gives them the freedom to do more and expand.
The closing exhibition for the gallery will be special as ĀKINA will host Nephi Tupaea’s first solo show and exhibition named The Effeminate Gaze by Nephi Tupaea. This exhibition will be held from June 24 to July 13.
Nephi Tupaea is a multimedia artist and long-standing member of the artist collective Pacific Sisters and Iwi Toi Ngāti Kahungunu, and is renowned for her creative dance performances, installations, body adornment, spoken word, fibre activation and innovative costume designs.
For this show, Nephi is presenting a body of paintings that depict effeminate forms draped with kōwhaiwhai, exploring gender, religion, trauma and colonisation. To show this she uses a bold and unique colour palate and has the ability to pair colours that would normally clash, presenting them in a way that gives life, vibrancy and depth and meaning to the paintings, Sacha said.
ĀKINA Gallery invites everyone to come and check out the art exhibition in the Municipal Building space, and Sacha said, “The show is a celebration, it’s exciting, it’s fresh, it’s new.”
The future of ĀKINA Gallery looks different, in a good way, said the gallery owner.
“Stepping out of the standard white-walled room of a gallery will suit us, it is hard to say what it will truly look like as we will always be exploring, asking and testing.
“Being open to doing things differently, working hard and taking care of each other has always resulted in excellent shows that engage people, so we look forward to continuing on like that,” she said.
