At this upcoming artist talk, celebrated Ashburton author and illustrator David Elliot will share insights into his current exhibition Wind and Waves. In this exhibition, people and creatures, in, on, above and near the ocean become characters that are interwoven with histories of exploration and scientific research, as well as mythological tales and high sea…

To celebrate our current exhibition Suffrage in Stitches, join us on 28 January for a fascinating talk about Kate Sheppard and the suffrage movement. Helen Osborne will be visiting us from Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House in Ōtautahi Christchurch, the family home of Kate Sheppard between 1888 and 1902 and the headquarters of the…

In this double-header event, we’ll be hearing from artist Chris Pole about his current exhibition Crooked Spur, and Merv Falconer, Chief Pilot for Mount Cook Airways from 1974-84, in connection with our From Tasman Glacier to Table Service exhibition. In Crooked Spur, Chris Pole’s unconventional landscape paintings inspired by his travels throughout the mid-Canterbury and…

At the opening of The Enlightenment Project (expanded), Christchurch-based artist Marian Maguire will talk about the ideas and impetus behind this series, which aims to make sense of this important age of European history, and the worldwide reverberations that resulted. This exhibition builds on the initial showing of The Enlightenment Project in 2022 and Maguire…

Join us for the opening of Sharing Histories, Gifts of 2023 on 18 February at 1pm! Explore some of the treasured objects, archives and photographs that were generously donated to the Ashburton Museum and Historical Society in 2023. Sharing Histories showcases some of the most special and fascinating museum acquisitions of the previous year and…

Join us for a talk with Janet Abbott on March 06 at 6pm! Was Ōtautahi Christchurch the centre of culture in Aotearoa in the first half of the 20th century? The city produced some of our best-known artists of the period, including Sydney Thompson, Rita Angus, Rata Lovell-Smith, Bill Sutton and Rhona Haszard. There were…

To celebrate our exhibition A New Era: Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Garden Settlement, join us for a talk with Arlene Baird, a heritage consultant based in Mid Canterbury. Arlene Baird is a heritage consultant based in Mid Canterbury. She has over 25 years’ experience in the heritage sector, initially in the UK where she…

In this interactive nose and ears-on session, Zonta Ashburton Female Art Award 2023 Premier Award winner Jo Burzynska explains how both musical and perfume notes resonate with each other and can be harmoniously combined, relating to her exhibition Scents Take up the Ringing. Sharing perfume components to smell and sounds to listen to, she will…

On Sunday 07 April at 2pm, Iain Cheesman will be visiting the Gallery and Museum to speak more about his foyer wall artwork The River Is.  The River Is uses balls of wool in a sculptural manner, creating a river-like scene of divining sticks, accompanied by a poem. The work is inspired by a childhood…