Sarjeant Happenings: ‘Kei Kōnei Au – I Am Here’ - Whanganui children’s self-portraits feature in Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery opening

Keith Street School students with their portraits which will be in the Kei Kōnei Au – I Am Here exhibition.

Almost 2000 primary school-aged children from Whanganui will have a record of how they saw themselves in 2024, the year Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery reopened.

The opening programme Nō Konei | From Here (November 9, 2024 - May 11, 2025) will include an exhibition of wonderfully diverse self-portraits by students from 22 schools in the region.

The exhibition is called Kei Kōnei Au – I Am Here and will celebrate our tamariki as they see themselves today. As the inheritors and future guardians of the magnificent facility and its collection, the portraits will be a personal record to look back on.

The children took part in the self-portrait project which was facilitated by the Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery education officer Sietske Jansma from April to August this year. Jansma said it provided a fantastic snapshot of children in the community, showing “their personalities, their likes and dreams and their creative spirits”.

“We want schools, tamariki and their whānau to be part of the new facility. The project was a way to help us reconnect with the students in our community and help them to realise that Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery is just as much for them, that they are part of who we are and that they and their whānau are welcome. A lot of our young students are under 10 years old and have never been to the gallery at Pukenamu,” Jansma said.

Keith Street School teacher Mitzi Madden said the children who participated from junior and senior classes were very excited to have Jansma come on-site to teach them. Jansma modelled and taught them drawing and watercolour skills, and about different styles of self-portraiture, showing the students examples from a range of artists. The gallery provided all the materials.

Madden said the children were focused and very proud of the artworks they produced, three children almost missing lunch to complete their portraits.

“I was actually surprised at the concentration from the little kids. The conversations that I overheard were about what they were doing. Things like what colours they were choosing and why,” Madden said.

The school was looking forward to the opening on November 9 and to seeing the children’s self-portraits on display, she said.

“Going through the art gallery and seeing different types of art, as opposed to doing art at school, gives them opportunities to communicate their thoughts and feelings through art. It opens up the imagination and exposes children to different cultures, different perspectives and different materials.”

Madden books a visit to the gallery and a session with Jansma for all classes every term and they learn to use a wide range of materials and techniques such as clay, collage, paint, charcoal, papier maché and more.

“I think [going to the gallery] increases children’s self-esteem and is also more relaxing; it reduces stress, improves some children’s concentration and helps develop their fine motor skills. They explore, they experiment with colour, line, shape, texture and also, just in talking about what they’re doing, it can trigger different emotions and different responses to the art they’re viewing, as well as the art they’re producing at the time.”

St John’s Hill School deputy principal Jo Maguire said the students loved doing their portraits.

The school was excited about the opening of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, getting to know the gallery again and using the facilities.

“I think Whanganui is waiting with bated breath to see this amazing space. I really hope people support it because it is for our community and for everybody in Aotearoa. I think it’s going to be fabulous.”