South Taranaki art gallery’s new exhibition celebrates Māori New Year

A print made by Linda Smith.

A collection of works by South Taranaki students is on display in Hāwera.

The works are a part of Lysaght Watt Gallery’s Puanga: Regeneration, Rebirth and Change exhibition.

Exhibition curator Libby Hogg says students from Te Paepae o Aotea submitted artworks for the exhibition.

“School staff told me the exhibition in Gallery One showcases their students’ artworks individually and collaboratively. For lots of the akonga this will be the first time they have been in an exhibition.

“As a newly established school in the region, the student and staff artwork will reflect the diversity of learners, the change our students are experiencing and the hope we share through the regeneration of schooling in Hāwera.”

One of the works in the Puanga: Regeneration, Rebirth and Change exhibition.

She says Puanga is a special time in the region.

In Gallery Two, mono and screen prints by printmakers Joanne Sim and Linda Evangaline Smith are on display. The two artists are from Taita’s Learning Connexion in Lower Hutt.

This is the second exhibition that Joanne and Linda have collaborated on together. Joanne says she has been a student at Learning Connexion for several years now.

“A lot of my printmaking plays with the relationship between colours and shapes.”

She enjoys experimenting with a variety of techniques in her creative work.

Linda teaches distance delivery and printmaking at Learning Connexion and moved away from painting to focus on printmaking over the last 10 years.

“I have a place to work in the Wairarapa beside the lake. I am very lucky. Many of my works in the exhibition take inspiration from her garden.”

The Details

What: Puanga: Regeneration, Rebirth and Change - Te Paepae o Aotea and Reclamation II - Joanne Sim and Linda Evangaline Smith

When: On display until July 22

Where: Lysaght Watt Gallery, 4/6 Union St, Hāwera