Sensational Spring at Te Manawa
Te Manawa’s current exhibitions bring together a mix of experiences that are easy to spend time with and will also leave you thinking…
Air Playground – Until 11 Oct
For curious kids of all ages, experience the science of aerodynamics and the amazing invisible elemental force of air through 10 interactive exhibits. Learn about the complex physics of air by challenging your friends to an ‘aircade’ game, tinkering with the speed and direction of airflow or collaborating to create a spinning, flapping air show!
Developed by a team of Science experts from Museums Victoria, this exhibition is jam-packed with hands-on interactive experiences for the whole whānau. (Admission fees apply.)
SCREECH! A little history of loud ceramics – Until 18 Oct
The name SCREECH! A little history of loud ceramics comes from a work by Bronwynne Cornish, and it fits. Nothing here is trying to be quiet. SCREECH! drags things a long way from the world of brown bowls and careful glazing. Instead, you get loud colours, strange shapes, and pieces that feel closer to gigs, cartoons, or something out of your head than anything you’d put in a cupboard.
Amongst the colourful chaos of these ceramic sculptures, you’ll find a man doing a handstand, a politically incorrect clown and some wayward eyeballs. The artists here aren’t too worried about function. It’s messy, playful, and sometimes a bit unhinged, in a good way.
Bringing together 28 artists, the exhibition pulls from Te Manawa’s collection alongside works from the Rick Rudd Foundation and Quartz Museum of Studio Ceramics in Whanganui, and The Dowse.
Kura Te Waru Rewiri – Until 28 Mar 2027
Be the first to explore new works by acclaimed artist Kura Te Waru Rewiri, as she pays homage to the mareikura o ngā toi Māori (esteemed person with a mastery of Māori art), the late Marilynn Webb. Kura says ‘I am inspired by the ordered chaos of my friend Marilynn’s overgrown garden. I am responding to her practice, the depth of her colours and the stylistic rendering and mauri (life force) of her landscapes.’
Emily Hartley-Skudder: CAMEO
Fair Trust Art Prize exhibition – Until 4 Jul 2027
Bringing together pristine, still life paintings of cleaning products, she-wees and baby bottles with surreal constructions, Emily Hartley- Skudder’s latest body of work responds to Palmerston North’s beloved public toilets, Ladies Rest in Te Marae o Hine, the Square. CAMEO takes its name from the group ‘Community Action by Mothers and Existing Other users’, who protested the planned additions of the information centre and men’s toilets to Ladies Rest in the early 2000s.
Many locals will have their own memories of visiting these facilities, and Hartley-Skudder’s work engages its past to explore current ideas about feminism, intersectionality, cleanliness and control. Discover even more exhibitions and programmes, and plan your visit today by visiting the Te Manawa website: www.temanawa.co.nz
