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Nelson English Centre

There’s a perfect spot on the side of Nelson English Centre, facing onto Church Street (near Kush Cafe). Big thanks to Nelson English Centre. We hope that your students enjoy meeting Appo!

The Wakatū Hotel

The Wakatū Hotel has a big place in Nelson’s memory, as one of the first major hotels on the main thoroughfare into the city, and more recently, as one of the last large-scale watering holes. Now, the land has been returned to the original customary owners of the Nelson Tenths – Wakatū Incorporation – who …

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Wakatū Hotel

The corner of Collingwood and Bridge has a long history that stretches back way before the current building.

Shared Communities Whakatū Nelson

Engagement with Nelson Migrant and Former Refugee Communities In late 2021, Make/Shift Spaces formed a Shared Communities Consortium with Multicultural Nelson Tasman Inc., Arts Council Nelson and Community Partnerships (Nelson City Council Te Kaunihera o Whakatū). You can check out their website here. In September 2023, Shared Communities appointed Karolina Serrano as they Cultural Navigator. …

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83-87 Bridge Street

This is the site of Warehouse Stationery, with its massive frontage. We couldn’t wait to utelise it for a photo display. Thanks Maylark Holdings!

Bank Lane (exterior wall of BNZ)

This is a busy little thoroughfare between Trafalgar Street and Montgomery Carpark – perfect for a display of bold bright images. Many thanks to Pascoe Properties.

93 Hardy Street

When Noodle Canteen was closed after a fire, the property owners decided it was time for a complete rebuild. So while that’s happening, they called on us to decorated the facade. With a bike rack out front, what could be more perfect than some photos of bicycles (and their owners). Big thanks to Gallett Properties …

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Elma Turner Library

Everyone loves a library! And here at MakeShift we especially love that we’ve got two projects happening on opposite sides of the library building. One is Bill Hammond’s ‘All Along the Heaphy Highway’, as part of ArtWalk, and the other is the 2021 instalment of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

Nelson City Centre ArtWalk

Nelson City Centre ArtWalk is an outdoor art gallery in Nelson’s streets. With more than 20 sites, ArtWalk takes you on a journey past artworks by some of Nelson’s most celebrated artists, as well as artworks that have a particular poignancy to Whakatū.

Masks About Town

A celebration of mask making in Whakatū Nelson Celebrating mask culture and creating your own are a huge part of cultural celebrations all around the world and have been a wonderful part of Nelson Arts Festival since its inception in 1995. The 2022 Festival is paying homage to this magical legacy with an exhibition of masks and photos throughout …

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Appo Hocton

We first presented Appo Hocton’s story in a shopfront in Bridge Street in 2021-22. Now he’s back in a great spot on the Nelson English Centre, on the Church Street side. In 1853, Appo Hocton became the first person of Chinese descent to gain New Zealand citizenship. As carter, builder, roading contractor, then exporter, he …

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Te Aratoi o Whakatū

With local, national and international art spanning over 200 years, The Suter has a collection of national significance. Try their fabulous Suter Café overlooking the Queen’s Gardens – the perfect place to begin and/or end your ArtWalk (or for a mid-Walk break). Entrance to the Suter’s galleries is free. They also have the wonderful Suter …

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Nelson Landscape

William Allen England/New Zealand, 1894–1988Nelson Landscape 1936oil on canvas, 493 x 595 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: presented by Mr F. A. Shurrock in 1970. ACC: 552 William Allen was bought out to New Zealand by the Education Department, specifically to improve the quality of art education, teaching first in Otago, and then …

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The Apple Pickers

Rita Angus New Zealand, 1908-1970The Apple Pickers  1944oil on canvas, 858 x 1118 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased by public subscription 2014. ACC: 1319 The Apple Pickers is one of those rare art works that has taken a place in our collective conscience transcending the time in which it was …

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After Rain, Takaka

Leo Bensemann New Zealand, 1912–1986After Rain, Takaka 1971oil on canvas board, 641 x 795 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased in 1986. ACC: 1376 Leo Bensemann has created this interpretation of Tākaka Hill by painting a ‘portrait’ of one of the many weather-sculpted rocks that lie scattered over its summit.  Tākaka Hill is …

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Self Portrait

Leo BensemannNew Zealand, 1912–1986 Self Portrait 1975oil on board, 712 x 725 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased with the Cuthbertson bequest in 2012. ACC: 1147 In what is possibly his last self-portrait, Leo Bensemann has placed himself against a landscape that meant a great deal to him. He was born …

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Untitled (Golden Bay landscape)

Leo Bensemann New Zealand, 1912–1986Untitled (Golden Bay landscape) c.1971oil on canvas board, 580 x 915 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gifted by Sue Christie in 2016: ACC: 1372 As a painter, Leo Bensemann was known for his portraits, especially in the 1930s and 1940s, and after 1960, for his landscapes. In this untitled …

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Ladies Day

Jane Evans New Zealand, 1946–2012Ladies Day 1978oil on board 1044 x 896 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: presented to The Suter by the estate of Amelia F. Roe in 2004. ACC. 977 Jane Evans was a Nelson artist who was a wry observer of people. She could sum up a …

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Saturday Afternoon I

Jane Evans New Zealand, 1946–2012Saturday Afternoon I 1976oil and acrylic on board, 603 x 756 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: presented to The Suter by the estate of Amelia F. Roe in 2004. ACC: 990 Jane Evans has captured a quintessential Nelson scene: a Saturday afternoon yacht race. She had been visiting …

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Summer Siesta

Jane Evans New Zealand, 1946–2012Summer Siesta 1982acrylic on canvas, 1210 x 1510 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gifted by the Goodman Group in 1984. ACC: 725. The story goes that Jane Evans was commissioned to produce a painting for the food conglomerate Goodman Group (now Goodman Fielder), but the resulting work, with …

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Western Coast of Tasman Bay

John Gully England/New Zealand, 1819–1888Western Coast of Tasman Bay 1885watercolour on paper, 750 x 1320 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased by public subscription in 1885 as the first painting for a public art collection in Nelson. ACC: 66 If there were ever an artwork intended to ‘sell’ New Zealand in the …

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All Along the Heaphy Highway

Bill HammondNew Zealand, 1947–2021All Along the Heaphy Highway 1998acrylic on canvas, 1070 x 1445 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased with the 10 x 10 Acquisition Fund, with the assistance of The Suter Patron, Sally Hunt, in 2010. ACC: 1108 A long and winding road divides the painting into two realms. The bird-headed …

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The Little Emigrant

Laura Herford England, 1831–1870The Little Emigrant 1868oil on canvas, 550 x 425 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: presented by Marjorie Sheat in 2007. Acc 1027 In 1860, Laura Herford was the first female artist to be accepted into London’s Royal Academy Schools. She used a little subterfuge when submitting her application, by just signing …

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At the Slip

Irvine MajorNew Zealand, 1922–2000At the Slip 1991watercolour on paper, 280 x 378 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gifted by Margaret Major in 2002. ACC: 919 Nelson’s port and marina provided Irvine Major with a wealth of interesting subject matter – in this painting it is a variety of colourful vessels on the slipway. The challenge …

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Summer in Nelson

Irvine MajorNew Zealand, 1922–2000Summer in Nelson 1960oil on canvas, 810 x 927 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased in 2001. ACC: 906 Irvine Major nailed the ‘essence of Nelson’ when he painted this picture, if the sales of postcards bearing this image are anything to go by. Painted more than 60 years …

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Tidal Stream I

Irvine MajorNew Zealand, 1922–2000Tidal Stream I 1982oil on canvas, 760 x 623 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased in 1982. ACC: 633 Irvine Major created many artworks inspired by the coastline from Tōtaranui to Stephens Bay near Kaiteriteri, where the artist’s family had a bach. For a period, Major owned a bilge keeler …

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Mrs Pérrine Moncrieff, Nelson

Marjorie NaylorNew Zealand, 1908–1985Mrs Pérrine Moncrieff, Nelson 1941oil on canvas 690 x 573 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: presented by the artist in 1980. ACC: 576 This is an eccentric portrait of a well-known Nelson personality, Pérrine Moncrieff (1893–1979). Moncrieff was responsible for the creation of Abel Tasman National Park, in …

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