Community Vision

The realisation of the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery is a story that stretches back almost 30 years, and owes its success to an army of passionate and committed community volunteers. It began in 1993 after the Mayor of Whangārei invited Hundertwasser to design an art gallery for the city and has never been far away from civic discussion ever since.

After being supported, and then unsupported, by various elected Whangārei District Councils, the one constant which always remained, was large community support. As a result, a committed group of local citizens refused to let the project wither and decided to find a way to build the art centre on their own.

In 2014 a binding referendum on what to do with the old Harbour Board building (which had been acquired for the art centre) was put to the public. They were given three choices:

— Create a maritime museum
— Build the Hundertwasser Art Centre
— Demolish the building

Supporters of the project sprang into action and before long signs of support for the Hundertwasser project were everywhere throughout the city. Letterboxes were painted in Hundertwasser’s style, murals and paintings inspired by Hundertwasser appeared throughout Whangārei and people partied in the streets, in support.

The referendum resulted in a landslide victory for the project, with more than 50% of the total vote choosing to build the Hundertwasser Art Centre. The citizens had spoken and the building finally had a public mandate to proceed. The Council provided $2.97 million towards earthquake proving, which ultimately amounted to nearly 10% of the project’s entire construction and business establishment cost of $33 million.

The challenge wasn’t over though. There was now the Council condition of raising just over $20 million in two years for the project to proceed. Spurred on by a shared vision for what the art centre could be, volunteers raised the funds required. Never before in New Zealand has such a significant amount of money been raised entirely by a team of community volunteers.

However, reaching the financial target didn’t mean the job was done. The project now needed to be managed, plans drawn, consents achieved and negotiations made… it wasn’t going to build itself.

The architectural project is a monument to the unwavering efforts of a committed few who refused to let the dream die. They led a community with their enthusiasm and determination and the result is the wonderful attraction we have right now sitting on the site of that former Harbour Board Building.