Visiting the Sarjeant on the Quay we were met by a sparkling chandelier by many artists. While the Sarjeant Gallery is awaiting the redevelopment next year which will restore it to its important place in the city, its work continues in the building on the Quay.

Director Greg Anderson held our attention as he spoke about the Sarjeant’s history and upcoming transformation, conveying not only information but his passion for and commitment to the place and its collection. Explore Sarjeant Gallery’s collection online here. These qualities were echoed in the comments from Nicola Williams, Chair of the Sarjeant Gallery Trust Board. Her favourite quote from Einstein, “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it” reveals the vision for the Gallery that was present in its founder and is there in the work towards its redevelopment.

Thanks also to Curator Greg Donson and Scott Redding from NZSAG who showed us works by local artist Edith Collier and the CoLab Conference Members Exhibition with its diverse and colourful works in glass. And thanks to Curator of Collections, Jennifer Taylor Moore, for leading us upstairs to the Collections storage space revealing some intriguing information about how the works are stored.

We were again impressed by the passion that was so evident in all artists and historians we met in Whanganui, whether they were employed or volunteers, and privileged to learn from them about the work they do and their commitment to the arts and their community.

Alison Kuiper
Friends Member

Feature image: Detail from: The Sarjeant Gallery viewed through trees, 1926,Frank Denton. Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. Gift of Mary Powell, Marjorie Marshall and Harold Denton, 1965.