It all began in Nov/Dec 2023, when we held a series of talks that sparked a heap of ideas about how we could make our city better. From that, we formed a Taskforce so that we could start looking at achievable projects, both in the short and long term. We decided that the first thing […]
What if Whakatū Nelson Taskforce Read More »
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
This project was first installed on hoarding for a building site on Hardy St, from May 2022 to Sept 2003. Then the panels sat in storage for a year, waiting for the right site to come to the fore. We think it was well worth the wait! So now, on the old Briscoes building, looking
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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
Engagement with Nelson Migrant and Former Refugee Communities. In early 2025 Shared Communities decorated a wall along Nile St. featuring the word “Thank You” in almost 50 languages. There’s a great article about the Nile St Wall in the Nelson Mail – read it here. In early 2026, the project was moved to a new
Shared Communities Whakatū Nelson Read More »
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
Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori Tēnā koutou katoaKei te harikoa a Make/Shift Spaces me te Kanihera o Whakatū kia tautoko ana iTe Wiki o te Reo Māori. Kia kaha te reo Māori! GreetingsMake/Shift Spaces and Nelson City Council are pleased to support Māori Language Week. We hope you give te reo Māori a go! In 2019,
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) Read More »
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
Te Aratoi o Whakatū Read More »
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
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
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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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
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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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
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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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
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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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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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
The Little Emigrant Read More »
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
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
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
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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Charlotte Sadd (1866–1937)New ZealandRocks Road in the making 1893oil on board 375 x 536 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: bequeathed to The Suter by the artist in 1937. ACC: 201 Charlotte Sadd was born in Nelson in 1866. She showed her paintings in many local exhibitions, and served on the
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Cedric Savage New Zealand, 1901–1969Aftermath c.1953oil on canvas, 905 x 1130 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gift of the legatees of the estate of F. G. Gibbs, in 1953. Acc 274 It is likely that Savage painted Aftermath as an impressive centrepiece for a solo exhibition held in The Suter Art Gallery in the 1950s. The
Robin SlowNew Zealand, 1947–Aratoi 2015acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 1460 x 1140 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gifted by the artist in 2016. ACC: 1363 This painting refers to the Māori name for The Suter Art Gallery: Te Aratoi o Whakatū. Ara means pathway. Toi has many meanings, but in this context it relates to art
Robin SlowNew Zealand, 1947–Kōkōwai 2006kōkōwai (red ochre), soot, acrylic binder and harekeke (flax) paper on canvas; kōkōwai on harekeke woven whāriki (mat), 1935 x 740 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gifted by the artist, 2006. ACC: 1035 This painting depicts the origins of kōkōwai, a stone that is ground to make a
Michael Smither New Zealand, 1939–Boy and Dolphin 1969oil on hardboard, 1210 x 602 mmOn long-term loan to The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū Michael Smither researched and painted a series of humans with a dolphin after being commissioned to do a cover image for Maurice Shadbolt’s novel This Summer’s Dolphin. Smither said, ‘I went through a steep
Brian StrongNew Zealand, 1945– Lake Series 10, Rotoiti 1974oil on canvas, 1820 x 1505 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased with the assistance of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council in 1976. ACC: 430 Brian Strong grew up in Nelson and studied at Canterbury University. His early career was as an art teacher
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Enga WashbournNew Zealand, 1908–1988Untitled (from the verandah at Speargrass Station) 1950swatercolour on paper, 376 x 440 mmCollection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gifted by Anne Rush in memory of her mother Adele in 2007. ACC: 1043 This painting is the view from the artist’s farmhouse verandah at Speargrass Station. Washbourn and her husband Gerald
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