In September 2015, Jenny Harper, then Director of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū (2006 to 2018), was preparing to reopen the gallery after the long period of closure following the cities devastating earthquakes. In the Christchurch Art Gallery's Bulletin Magazine (Issue B.181) she reflected on the role of collections, city funders and their importance to the life and identity of a city.
In her foreword, she said: “Collecting is a continuous process. You can’t turn it on and off like a light bulb. It’s proactive and it takes knowledge, commitment to developing relationships with artists, their dealers and auction houses, as well as the experience and judgement we develop on the job.”
She went on to introduce the Chartwell Collection as an example of private charitable support for the public gallery and its collections, saying:“Auckland collector, Rob Gardiner, one of New Zealand’s few really committed art philanthropists, who has enriched Auckland Art Gallery’s collection immensely with the extended loan of the Chartwell Collection, sometimes describes art as a ‘gymnasium for the mind’. And, just like getting fit, sometimes it takes time and energy to engage with art.”
Sue Gardiner was invited to write a history of the Chartwell Collection.
Read the full article here.
