Countdown underway for opening of new Library and Exhibition Centre
Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre staff are gearing up for a rush of customers after the facility’s civic opening this week.
Whakātane District Council Manager Arts and Culture, Wayne Marriott. “Staff have put in a huge effort to get us to a point where we are now applying the finishing touches to a facility the whole community can be proud of.”
The civic opening will begin at 9.00am on Thursday with a pōwhiri and Mr Marriott says anyone who would like to attend will be welcome. “The formalities will end with Mayor Tony Bonne officially opening the building and then we will
be delighted to introduce guests to the District’s new arts and culture hub.” He says the Centre will also be a significant attraction for visitors and will contribute to the revitalisation of the downtown area.
The Library space will offer a greatly enhanced experience, with more room, comfortable places for reading and research and more interactive opportunities for young people, with the latter expected to be in great demand over the school holiday period.
The Gallery spaces will provide a range of cultural experiences. Gallery I is a permanent showcase for the District’s stories and selected Museum artefacts, while Gallery II’s opening exhibition features photographs shot in the Eastern Bay of Plenty by ‘master of light’ Brian Brake, one of New Zealand’s pre-eminent artists of the 20th Century.
The Sheaff Family Gallery will host ‘Mauri Ora – A Story of Creation’, a visionary exhibition by award-winning artist Jamie Boynton, while in the Whakatāne Community Board Gallery, linear sculptures by Gina
Matchitt weave the faces of everyday New Zealanders into narratives of the past and present.
“Once the Library and Exhibition Centre is open, we will be offering guided tours for community groups and organisations to introduce the facility to as many people as possible,” Mr Marriott concludes.
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