After much waiting, planning, preparation, and unforeseen setbacks as a result of a global pandemic, the He Waka Tuia Art + Museum in Invercargill city finally has an opening date – and it’s just around the corner.

He Waka Tuia ART + MUSEUM will open its doors to the public on Saturday, September 12.

With the city's museum pyramid building remaining closed, The Southland Museum and Art Gallery (SMAG) and the Invercargill Public Art Gallery have teamed up to bring the people of Invercargill a new and inclusive art and museum experience that will serve the public until a long-term solution to the SMAG building can be found. 

SMAG curator manager David Dudfield and Invercargill Public Art Gallery (IPAG) acting manager/curator Gemma Baldock are the interim co-managers of He Waka Tuia and have been leading the charge in setting up the project.

They have both been working on the set-up for months and are thrilled to have an opening date firmed up at last. 

“It will be lovely to finally share this space with everybody. We know how important it is for people to have spaces they can call their own, and we sincerely hope people love it as much as we do,” Miss Baldock said.

The interim art gallery and museum is being set up by in the heart of the CBD in the old bank building on the corner of Kelvin and Don street and will be homed there at least four years or possibly longer if needed. 

The first exhibition at He Waka Tuia is called "Choice" and is the result of an extensive consultation process carried out by the two organisations (SMAG and IPAG) of Southlanders and local iwi. 

The co-managers said that "Choice" is a play on words, meaning "people's choice" and "choice" as in "ka pai".

"We're taking what people wanted to see, how they wanted to engage with their art, how the wanted to view the Taonga,” Mr Dudfield said. 

"We want the community to know that this is theirs," he added. 

Miss Baldock said sometimes people could find art intimidating if they felt they didn't understand it. 

But she said the space was made to be inclusive and ultimately to give the community to knowledge, cultures and meeting new people.

"Art can be whatever you want it to be… we're redefining how people connect with Taonga and art."

"It's for all ages and abilities," she said. 

Entry is free to He Waka Tuia and everyone is welcome.

The Invercargill City Council has contributed $400,000 from 2018-2020 towards the fit-out He Waka Tuia ART + MUSEUM.

Other organisations that have contributed to the fit-out costs are SMAG ($150k), ILT ($27k), ILT Foundation ($40k), Community Trust South ($67k) and Southern Trust ($67k). 

IPAG’s contribution has been $29,000, plus staff resource.