Heritage Strategy Action Plan - Auckland Council

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6.5 Waitakere City Art Community
Waitakere City, and in particular localities such as Titirangi, is known for the considerable number
of artists who live there, attracted by the magnificent landscape, the cultural diversity and the
presence of established artists.
It is seen by many to be a real strength of the City that it has a particularly rich cultural resource in
terms of its well-known and well-established artistic community.
6.6 Waitakere City Art Facilities
Waitakere City does not have its own civic collections-based art gallery to collect, preserve,
document, research and display the City’s art. The Council, however, owns Lopdell House in
which the Lopdell House Society runs a non-collections art gallery of some significance in the
Auckland regional context, which exhibits work by artists of national significance, including local
artists. Council itself displays local art on Council premises.
Currently in the Auckland region, only the Auckland City Art Gallery holds substantial collections
of works by artists associated with Waitakere City - in particular, the notable collection by the
well-known artist Colin McCahon, who lived in the Waitakere Ranges in the 1950s.
The Council has established a major arts and cultural facility on the old Corban estate. It is multifunctional
facility, with exhibition space, workshops, studios, retail and a performance area
currently in the early stages of development. It provides a valuable focus for the City’s art
communities. Council has the opportunity to identify ways in which local artists could work in
partnerships with the Council to enhance opportunities for the display of public art, raising public
awareness, promoting the City’s distinctive character and improving art facilities in the City.
6.7 Arts and Culture Principles
There are seven principles outlined in the Waitakere City Council Arts and Culture Strategy which
underpin the Strategy. These are:
• Arts and cultural expression are by and for everybody
• Maori arts and cultural expression are visible and treasured as integral to the life of the City
• Knowledge of the City’s many cultures is a source of strength and a cause for celebration.
• Arts are critical to the City’s development socially, culturally, environmentally and
economically.
• We celebrate who we are through our arts and cultures.
• Waitakere City provides a sustaining environment for arts and cultural activity to flourish
• Local arts and cultural activity impacts on, and is impacted by, regional, national and global
environments