An artist's impression of the inside of the new art gallery at Te Papa. Photo: Supplied.
Since it opened in 1998, the national musem Te Papa has been criticised for not having enough space to exhibit art work.
The new gallery will provide showing space for 35 percent more art, including iconic, large-scale and new works.
New Zealand artists are “quite good at scale”, Charlotte Davy says, and she's excited Te Papa will soon have the chance to bring out large sculptural works such as Ralph Hotere’s Black Phoenix.
They will also be calling for new works by New Zealand artists which respond to the scale of the new space, which will have eight-metre ceilings (the current gallery has three-metre ceilings).
The development will include a suite of exhibition spaces for smaller-scale works by iconic New Zealand artists such as Charles Goldie, Rita Angus, Colin McCahon and Ralph Hotere that haven’t had a permanent home in the gallery before, says Davy.
Construction of Te Papa's new gallery will begin February 2017 and it is due to open in December 2017. The museum will stay open throughout.
Photo: 123RF
