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Hawkes Bay Museum & Art Gallery Upgrade
Aerial view of Hawkes Bay Museum & Art Gallery Upgrade progress.Planning Started: 2007
Construction Started: 22 June 2011
Completed: Not Completed
Work is nearing completion on the $18-million redevelopment of the Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery. The building is due to be handed back to Museum staff at the end of April 2013, who will then move the collection back in. A new range of exhibitions will be designed and installed for the opening this spring.
The redevelopment will provide a new landmark home for the treasured art and artifacts held on behalf of the people of Hawke’s Bay. The project has been funded by the Napier City Council, the Government, the Hastings District Council and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. It has also attracted ongoing generous support from the Hawke’s Bay community.
The redeveloped complex will be a premium cultural facility says Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott – one that will better tell the stories of the people of this region and support its thriving visitor industry.
The architect for the redevelopment is Richard Daniels of Opus International Consultants Ltd.
Gemco Construction was awarded the museum redevelopment contract in June 2011. Demolition and site work began on 22 June 2011.
The old Lilliput building was demolished to clear the site for the new wing, while the Category II historic place; the Borough Council Chambers building has been relocated to Byron Street.
Currently being built on the corner of Marine Parade and Tennyson Streets HBMAG’s new wing will include the new public entrance to the complex. Three levels will house six exhibition galleries, an education suite, a large reception foyer, shop and other facilities. The new building will connect to the museum’s refurbished 330 seat theatre, a new cafe and the original 1936 Louis Hay-designed gallery and museum building through a ground-level link-way gallery. The original entrance of 1936 building has now been reinstated as originally conceived by Hay. This building will become the new home of the Archives of the Hawke’s Bay region as well as associated research and gallery spaces.
The opening exhibition programme will celebrate the richness and diversity of the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection with a variety of frequently changing exhibitions. There will be many new treasures and stories to enjoy and discover alongside well-known favourites.
The finished complex will ensure the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust’s collection will be displayed in new exhibition spaces, maintained in line with museum standards.
In November 2013 Napier City Council approved the name, which will replace Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery (HBMAG). When the new building on Tennyson Street opens next year it will have a new name - MTG Hawke’s Bay.
HBMAG director Douglas Lloyd Jenkins says the name change reflects a desire to create a brand that takes the building, and what it represents, into the future. MTG Hawke’s Bay brings together three key parts of the institution, the museum, theatre and gallery. A reference to the theatre had been missing within the HBMAG name.
MTG Hawke’s Bay began appearing in print from November 2012 with an official roll out due May 2013.
MTG Hawke’s Bay will be home to the great treasures of Hawke’s Bay and is set to open in Spring 2013.
To find out more information project or to make a donation please visit the For Us website. View our For Us website
Follow the HBMAG redevelopment progress on the HBMAG facebook page and check out the HBMAG blog where HBMAG staff share their insights of behind the scenes as they get closer to reopening.
HB Museum & Art Gallery Project Images
An aerial view of the Hawke’s Bay M...
Pedestrian and parking precinct to ...
The new main entrance at 1 Tennyson...
The new main foyer in the Hawke's B...
Inside Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gal...
Work underway in the Octagon on the...
Work is underway on the verandah fo...
The Bestall Gallery’s stunning door...
Hawkes Bay Museum & Art Gallery Upg...
The 1930s original entrance being r...
The 1930s original entrance on Hers...
Aerial view of Hawkes Bay Museum & ...
Aerial view of Hawkes Bay Museum & ...
Aerial view of Hawkes Bay Museum & ...
Aerial view of Hawkes Bay Museum & ...
Block work progress on Hawkes Bay M...
Roof lanterns on the new wing take ...
The new front entrance takes shape ...
The first floor of the new wing off...
The balcony floor takes shape above...Records 1 to 20 of 35
