Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu
Encyclopedia
The Christchurch Art Gallery, with the formal name of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is funded by Christchurch City Council
Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate...

. It has its own substantial art collection and presents a programme of New Zealand and international exhibitions. The gallery opened on 10 May 2003, replacing the city's former public art gallery, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, which opened on 16 June 1932 and closed on 16 June 2002.

The Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 elements of the name are explained as follows: Te Puna honours waipuna, the artesian spring beneath the gallery and Waiwhetu refers to one of the tributaries in the immediate vicinity, which flows into the River Avon. Waiwhetu may also be translated as ‘water in which stars are reflected’.

The Building

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu was designed by the Buchan Group. The gallery's forecourt has a large sculpture, Reason for Voyaging, which was the result of a collaboration between the sculptor Graham Bennett and the architect David Cole.

The building was used as Civil Defence headquarters for Christchurch following the 2010 Canterbury earthquake
2010 Canterbury earthquake
The 2010 Canterbury earthquake was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which struck the South Island of New Zealand at 4:35 am on local time ....

, and again after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

External links

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