Holiday Programme | Tagata Moana Trust

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

Discover the exciting world of STEM! From 10am - 2pm on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th of December, join us for a day of exploring the world of our ancestors through STEM technology. Engage in activities such as the DNA extraction of bananas, the exploration of Pacific attire, making our own minecraft skins, and designing…

The Great Santa Hunt 2023

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

The Great Santa Hunt is back on at the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum these school holidays with a special late night opening event on Wednesday 20 December, so get your torches ready!   All the lights will be turned off, so you’ll need your torches for the late night opening hunt to find the…

Two O’Clock Tours | From Tasman Glacier to Table Service

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

For three Hakatere Ashburton men, Wilf Holland, Allen Kelly and Jack Pattle, an adventure awaited them at Aoraki Mt Cook in March 1958. They were tasked with cutting three blocks of clean white ice from a glacier and preparing them for shipping to New York. Discover an epic journey taken by van, plane, boat and…

Artist Talk | David Elliot

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

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…

Suffrage Talk | Helen Osborne

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

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…

Talks | Chris Pole and Merv Falconer

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

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…

Marian Maguire | Exhibition opening and artist talk

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

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…

Sharing Histories | Exhibition opening

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

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…

Janet Abbott talk | Christchurch Capital of Culture 1900-1950

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

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…

Arlene Baird talk | Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Garden Settlement

Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum 329 West Street, Ashburton, New Zealand

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…