Ashburton Art Gallery and Heritage Centre

So, I'm here at the Ashburton Art Gallery and Heritage Centre, which is a pretty cool complex. Both the art gallery and the museum are now together, and it's all run by the Ashburton District Council. Apparently, the museum first opened its doors in 1972, and then in 1995, both it and the art gallery moved into these old County Council buildings. But they've been in this purpose-built facility since 2014 for the museum, and 2015 for the gallery. They finally merged into one big organization just in 2021.

The art gallery itself has a neat history. Back in 1983, the president of the Ashburton Society of Arts, Alison Ryde, had this idea for a public exhibition space. They even set up an association a couple of years later to make it happen, initially trying to get some land on West Street. When that didn't pan out, they focused on fundraising. Then, in 1989, they teamed up with the Historical Society to push for a spot in the former County Council building, which is where they ended up for a while.

The gallery has quite a collection—over 700 permanent works, plus another 2000 or so on long-term loan. I spotted a lot of pieces by David Elliot, who’s an Ashburton-born children's book author and illustrator. There are drawings from his collaborations, like *The Making of the Word Witch* with Margaret Mahy, and his own books like *The Moon and Farmer McPhee*. They also have works by Rudolf Gopas, Nigel Brown, and a few other notable artists. I also learned that they partner with Zonta International to give out an annual award to female artists, which includes a solo exhibition here.

The museum side also has a long story. The Ashburton Historical Society started way back in 1958, with the goal of creating a museum. They first housed their collection in a building on Cass and Tancred streets. In 1960, a librarian named Thelma McArtney joined and really pushed for collecting photographs, especially of buildings that were about to be demolished. Their first official museum building, called Pioneer Hall, opened in 1972, in a small building that had been a Hospital Board Office and then a women's rest room. They moved to a more spacious building on Cameron Street in 1976, which was formally opened in 1978. That building eventually became too small and cold, which led them to join forces with the art gallery in the former County Council offices.

It’s pretty cool how both these institutions have evolved over the years to become what they are today, all under one roof.