Whanganui’s illustrious history of design celebrated in a new exhibition at the Whanganui Regional Museum

Whanganui's history of design is being celebrated with the opening of a new exhibition of the regional museum.

The past, present and future of design in Whanganui are being celebrated at the Whanganui Regional Museum with the opening of its new exhibition, Whanganui Mūmū - Whanganui by Design.

The exhibition was created to celebrate the recognition of Whanganui as a Unesco City of Design, with the NZ National Commission for Unesco and Whanganui & Partners providing funding.

Museum director Dr Bronwyn Labrum said the exhibition took around six months to put together - the second large-scale exhibition the museum has opened this year.

Labrum was pleased to have the exhibition after a lot of hard work by herself and the staff at the museum.

“We’re really excited to open it at the end of the year and have something exciting and interesting for visitors to see over the summer,” she said.

The exhibition features items ranging from taonga from the 19th century to plans for the Whanganui post office built in 1938 to ceramics by sculptor Ross Mitchell-Anyon.

Labrum’s favourite items were a set of Formica table and chairs from the 1950s, and the light shades made by local glass-blower Katie Brown that have been placed above the table.

Brown said the museum approached her to feature something in the exhibition, and she felt honoured to take part.

“It’s great because they’re celebrating design in Whanganui so they’ve picked a couple of local designers and I’m really honoured to be one of those,” she said.

The lights she made were specifically designed for the space and for the table they are hung over.

“I made three pieces that I thought would go well with the museum and go well with the table.

“I went to the museum and saw the space and then designed something that I thought would support the museum.”

Brown said creating the designs was a challenge but she felt she had put her best forward when designing them.

“I wanted to make my best work because of being part of the collection,” she said.

The exhibition space was designed by local company Dalgleish Architects.

Owner Craig Dalgleish said the museum and his company worked collaboratively to design the space.

He said the space was designed with Computer-Aided Design software and the museum was able to give quick feedback on the construction and colour of the space.

He said the tartan pattern on the exhibition’s entranceways were inspired by blankets and clothes made by Whanganui Woolen Mills.

The overall design of the space was done to make people think they were in a room rather than on the mezzanine of the museum and was also designed to slow people down so they admired the display.

“We didn’t want the exhibition to be a sprint from one end to the other,” he said.

Labrum hoped as many people as possible came to see the exhibition, and it had already gotten some interest from local and national organisations.

“We’ve already had great interest from UCOL, for design students, it’s going to be a compulsory part of their curriculum,” she said.

The exhibition will be on display for at least a year.