New Museum Partnership Supports Contemporary Māori Craft

By Karen Hughes

The Whanganui Regional Museum is delighted to be announced as the newest fund partner of the Blumhardt Fund. The fund is awarded by the Blumhardt Foundation, to support New Zealand public art galleries and museums in their acquisition of work by contemporary New Zealand craft practitioners.

The Blumhardt Foundation was established in 2003 to advance the craft and object art sector, which includes the fields and practices of studio ceramics, glass, jewellery, metal, fibre work and other craft practices. The Foundation works to establish strategic partnerships that it believes will support the growth and development of the sector in New Zealand.

Over a four-year period, the fund provides a dollar-for-dollar subsidy to enable participating art museums to acquire works made by outstanding contemporary New Zealand craft practitioners. The aim of the Blumhardt fund is to enhance New Zealander’s access to the work of contemporary makers, and to support the practice of those makers through public art galleries and museums.

The announcement is an endorsement of the Whanganui Regional Museum’s current Taonga Māori collection, and its intention towards developing the collection of contemporary Māori artistry.

The Museum joins the ranks of other fund recipients such as Dowse Art Museum, Otago Museum, and Suter Art Gallery in Nelson.

The Blumhardt Foundation was established in 2003 in the name of founder Dame Doreen Blumhardt ONZ, DNZM, CBE to use her collection and estate to further the collection and development of New Zealand craft and object art. Doreen was a passionate ceramist and arts educator.

Whanganui Regional Museum Director, Dr Bronwyn Labrum says the Museum is grateful for the opportunity to further Dame Doreen Blumhardt’s vision, “With the help of the Foundation, the vibrancy of the local craft community will be represented in ways that connect to our existing collections and to local iwi and their stories. It will allow the Museum to broaden its focus to encompass contemporary collecting, as well as honouring those who came before us.”

Founded in 1892, the Whanganui Regional Museum is internationally renowned for its Taonga Māori Collection. Located in Pukenamu Queen’s Park, visitors can view the exceptional creations of tupuna (ancestors) of Whanganui tangata whenua (indigenous people) alongside a changing exhibition programme encompassing a world-class collection of natural and human history, with a regional emphasis. The ground level boutique museum store sells a range of local and Māori jewellery, books, cards, art, and other New Zealand-made gift items.

The Whanganui Regional Museum Trust is an independent legal entity that owns the collection and governs the development of the Museum on behalf of the Whanganui community.

Open to visitors daily from 10.00am to 4.30pm (except Christmas Day and Good Friday), entry to Whanganui Regional Museum is free. Currently all visitors to the Whanganui Regional Museum are required to wear a mask, except children under 12 years old.

Connect with Whanganui Regional Museum at www.wrm.org.nz or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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