Whakatāne Art Gallery

06/10/2026

Two exhibitions are closing this weekend, Hearth by Llyr Williams and Jess Nicholson and Land | Sea | Change by Meg Gaddum. If you haven't been in to see these exhibitions yet, we'd love to see you this week.

Both exhibitions celebrate artists with strong connections to this rohe, offering thoughtful reflections on place, belonging, and the landscapes that shape us. Don't miss the opportunity to enjoy the meaning and detail of these works in person.

📸 Claire House Photography
Images 1 -5: Hearth by Llyr Williams and Jess Nicholson
Images 6 - 10: Land | Sea | Change by Meg Gaddum

30/09/2026

Join Dr Zena Elliott and Dr Turumakina Duley, artists in E AWA TE ARA, for an informal lunchtime kōrero at the Gallery.

Zena and Turumakina will share kōrero about their mahi toi, research and PhD pathways — the learning journeys, ideas and experiences that have shaped their creative practices along the way.

We’ll also be joined by another E Awa te Ara artist, Erena Koopu and her tauira from Toihoukura, bringing together artists, tauira and our community for kōrero within the exhibition space.

📅 Tuesday 13 October
🕛 12 noon
📍 Whakatāne Art Gallery – Te Kōputu a te Whanga a Toi

Join us for the kōrero. We’d love to see you there!
Free | All welcome

28/09/2026

Add our art trail booklet to add to your School Holiday activity kete 🎨

Pick up a free tamariki activity booklet at Whakatāne Art Gallery and embark on an artistic adventure through our current exhibitions. Follow the clues, spot the details, and see what you can discover along the way.

A fun and engaging activity for curious minds of all ages. Available throughout the school holidays from the Gallery front desk.

And there is more free school holiday fun to be had with the awesome Whakatāne Library team, so be sure to head into Te Kōputu over the next two weeks with your tamariki.

25/09/2026

Time is running out to visit Kuia Moko before it closes on Saturday 3 October.

As this exhibition draws to a close, we invite our community to spend time with these kuia. It is a chance to reflect on the significance of moko kauae and the enduring connections between past, present, and future generations.

Don’t miss your opportunity to be part of an exhibition that has resonated deeply, and brought forth many stories from gallery visitors from our rohe and beyond.

📸 Claire House Photography

25/09/2026

He mihi whakanuia ki a Glenda Hape, winner of the Toi Rākei Award at this year’s World of WearableArt (WOW)!

Another stunning achievement from this talented ringatoi. We’re lucky to currently have some of Glenda’s mahi on display as part of E Awa Te Ara – at Whakatāne Art Gallery.

Congratulations Glenda! ✨

WEAVER WINS AT WOW
Glenda Hape's stunning tukutuku-inspired design has won the Te Tohu Toi Rākei Award at the 2026 World of WearableArt. Read more in the comments below ..

09/09/2026

Meet the artist: Jess Nicholson

Jess Nicholson is a ceramic artist from Ōhope, now based in Ōtepoti. Their practice is grounded in Kāitahutaka, environmental sustainability and connecting to culture through whenua.

Working primarily through ceramics, Jess explores the transitional and non-linear nature of reconnecting to whakapapa. They transform local, collected and reclaimed materials, including uku, kōhatu, oneone, ash, ceramic and glass, into sculptural forms that become tangible expressions of the relationship between place, material and person.

Jess’s practice is interested in belonging, domesticity and acceptance, while rejecting capitalist approaches to ceramic production in favour of labour-intensive and intimate processes.

This year Jess exhibited their solo show Ka maumahara te uku (the clay remembers) at COCA Toi Moroki. In 2025 they exhibited with Paemanu: Ngāi Tahu Contemporary Visual Art Collective at the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial in Meanjin/Brisbane. They were also awarded the Caselberg Creative Connections Residency, received second place at the ILT Arts Murihiku Awards, and a Merit Prize at The Portage Ceramic Awards.

For Hearth, Jess’s ceramic works come together with Llyr Williams’ woodwork, stonework and painting, creating a shared space where different histories, materials and ways of belonging can sit alongside one another.

07/09/2026

Longings from the Hearth
Essay written by Sylvan Spring

“What does it mean to long for a place, a home, or a connection to something we feel we have lost?”

In response to Hearth, writer Sylvan Spring explores ideas of longing, belonging, ancestry and our relationship to the natural world.

Drawing on Kāi Tahu pūrākau and the Welsh concept of hiraeth, a yearning for a home or connection that can feel just out of reach, Spring considers how these longings find their way into our everyday lives and the objects we surround ourselves with.

“Our smallest longings are contained in our domestic objects.”

Through the work of Llyr Williams and Jess Nicholson, domestic objects become a meeting place for histories, landscapes, cultures and memories. Their work speaks to a shared desire to bring something of the outside world into our homes and perhaps to find a sense of belonging there.

Longings from the hearth is a written response to the exhibition Hearth.

✨ Continue reading the full essay via the link below or in person at the gallery
🔗 whakatanemuseum.org.nz/exhibitions-and-events/hearth

Hearth is on display at Whakatāne Art Gallery until 10 October.

07/09/2026

Meet the artist from Hearth: Llyr Williams

Moving from Camarthan, Wales, to Whakatāne as a teenager, Llyr Williams draws on the textures, materials and landscapes of both of his home countries.

His practice explores belonging, ancestry, domesticity and relationships to place through painting, sculpture and crafted domestic objects. Working across industrial design, furniture making, traditional Welsh stonemasonry and fine art, Llyr works with wood, stone and paint, creating functional and sculptural objects with a strong connection to the natural environment.

His work often brings together material, memory and place, reflecting on what it means to belong to more than one landscape and culture.

Llyr’s work has been exhibited nationally, including the collaborative exhibition Re: Wild / Mohoao / Gwyllt with Jess Nicholson in 2025. In 2023 he presented his solo exhibition The Lyall Bay Flotsam & Jetsam Collection, and in 2024 he was awarded the Mayor’s Prize at the Molly Morpeth Canaday Awards.

For Hearth, Llyr’s woodwork, stonework and painting sit alongside Jess Nicholson’s ceramics to create an immersive exploration of home, belonging and connection to place.

31/08/2026

Since opening, the Kuia Moko exhibition has received such a beautiful response from our community and visitors.

We’ve loved reading the messages left in our guest book and hearing the stories this exhibition has brought forward.

A highlight has been welcoming whānau to share their connections to the kuia, bringing in photographs, sharing stories, and telling us how they whakapapa to these remarkable wāhine.

Here are some of the lovely messages visitors have left in our guest book. 💛

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who has visited, shared a story, left a message, or simply taken a moment to spend time with these taonga.

We’ve really enjoyed having you here. 💛

Come and experience Kuia Moko at the Whakatāne Art Gallery. Open until 3 October.