The art gallery closes for the establishment of a major exhibition

Art lovers will retire for five days in August while the Hastings Art Gallery will close for the installation of a unique exhibition.

Passers-by will have the opportunity to get an idea of ​​the works. by 23 artists with connections to Hawke's Bay – some internationally known and others emerging in the art scene.

East 2018 is expected to attract a colorful crowd and will feature a mix of rarely seen existing works as well as 10 new works commissioned specifically for the exhibition, which will take place from August 11 to November 11th.

Internationally acclaimed artists splashing their art on the gallery's white walls include George Nuku, David Trubridge, Vanessa Arthur and Rangituhia. Hollis, Joyce Campbell and Clare Plug

Those who will not be able to cope with the suspense can still participate in the experiment by using "peep-hole holes" in the gallery windows to have a overview of the effort.

The director of the gallery, Toni MacKinnon, says it will be a mixed bag once the exhibition goes online.

"It's an exciting, but very busy period, where we are installing works by so many artists – mediums, painting, ceramics, photography and photography. Architecture, industrial design, video, conceptual and performance. "

Bruce E Phillips, curator and freelance editor based in Wellington, reconstructed the exhibition, the country meets with the artists.

Phillips says that the magnitude of the conversations during the meetings was enormously diverse.

"We discussed the traceability of whakapapa and the revival of childhood memories. We marveled at the data on climate change and we mourned the death of fish and forests.

We examined the rhizomatic nature of images, the ancient knowledge of Japanese ovens and debated policies from everything from cigarettes to deities and architecture. As Phillips continued his journey, he created a whakatauki (proverb) to accompany the exhibition, similar to the one that had been in his mind when planning with the original named "Whatu-ngarongaro, tangata, roofū he kāinga "(people die, but still remains.)

The whakatauki of the exhibition is:" People pass, but there are still places; Order controls boundaries, but chaos frees the infinite; Cities eventually collapse, but forests are still growing.

Hastings District Councilor Wendy Schollum, who owns the community engagement portfolio, says the exhibition will show just how vast the Hawke's Bay arts community is. looking at some of our well known favorites but also looking at the work of our next generation of artists. "