Business Central September 2020

| 3 Volume 5 | Issue 3 DEVELOPMENT » Expressions Whirinaki Arts and Entertainment Centre Whirinaki Centre set for expansion The extension of Upper Hutt’s Expressions Whirinaki Arts and Entertainment Centre will double the existing floor space. Kelly Deeks “Upper Hutt doesn’t have a museum celebrating local history, so in this space we’ll be able to tell our local stories and keep them continually changing. That is pretty amazing for a city of 46,000 people.” A programme of world class exhibitions, shows, and events has seen Upper Hutt’s Expres- sions Whirinaki Arts and Entertainment Centre experience exponential growth in the past five years, and now the centre is growing too, with a new extension doubling the floor space and due to open May 2021. Expressions Whirinaki director Leanne Wickham says refreshed exhibition programming from 2015 first saw the National Geographic exhibition bring- ing in 20,000 visitors in ten weeks. This was quickly followed by back to back incredibly popular exhibitions such as Secrets of the Mona Lisa, and visitation increased from 60,000 to 140,000 in the next two years. Education programmes were also on the increase at Expressions Whirinaki with Ministry of Education curriculum support project Learning Experiences Outside The Classroom (LEOTC) bringing in a num- ber of school students, and the events programme also increased with Expressions Whirinaki’s recrea- tion hall hosting large events such as the Rotary Book Fair and the Capital Fibre Fest, which each saw about 3000 visitors. The contemporary facility, built in 2003 as part of a redevelopment of the 1971-built Civic Hall, has always been a great place to host conferences and events, but without its own kitchen, these would often require the erection of an outdoor marquee. “School students could only be accommodated upstairs causing accessibility issues, and the two existing galleries while really great, are limited by size,” Leanne says. “We’re growing from two exhibition spaces to five exhibition spaces, with one large one,” she says. “The large one, The Gillies Gallery, is re- ally important, because it will be a new heritage showcase. “Upper Hutt doesn’t have a museum celebrating local history, so in this space we’ll be able to tell our local stories and keep them continually changing. That is pretty amazing for a city of 46,000 people.” The extension also includes the Heretaunga Rotary Gallery, focusing on hands-on interactive experiences, and a climate controlled environment built to museum standards to house the locally and nationally significant Pumpkin Cottage collection, which displays a unique, New Zealand style of impressionism. A community creative workshop and a new commercial kitchen for the recreation hall means Expressions Whirinaki will be usable and functional for all types of people and all types of events. Leanne says the project has received fantastic financial support from the public, including $1.2 million from the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund and significant sponsorship from the local Gillies Group, which also sponsors Expressions Whirinaki’s existing theatre. “We’ve had support from a wide range of people and we wouldn’t have been able to do this without them.” The $7 million extension is being funded two thirds by Upper Hutt City Council, and Expressions Trust fundraising for the remainder. The design was completed by Athfield Architects and Maycroft Construction is leading the project. Proud to support Maycroft Construction Ltd 4 Makaro Street, Elsdon, Porirua | 04 971 3315 cheryl.tinakoriflooring@xtra.co.nz TINAKORI FLOORING Commercial Flooring Specialists Cell: (021) 859973 279 Waiwhetu Road, Lower Hutt, 5011 Megan@frsprinklers.co.nz www.frsprinklers.co.nz Design, Engineering, Installation, Service & Maintenance FIRE RISK SPRINKLERS LTD FIRE PROTECTION CONTRACTORS