Dunedin City Council Art Collection
Te Ara ō kiwa i te Mauri ō Takaroa A spiritual pathway of the ocean located In the garden opposite the Waikouaiti Library at 192 Main Road, Waikouaiti, Otago.
About Public Art Heritage
He toi whakairo, he mana tangata
Where there is artistic excellence, there is human dignity
Aotearoa's 20th Century Public Art is at risk. During the 20th Century many of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most talented artists turned their attention to enriching public space, often hand-in-hand with leading architects. As a result, some of the largest and most ambitious artworks in the country were placed in publicly-accessible sites throughout urban and regional centres.
Sadly, many of these works have now been destroyed, covered over, or simply lost. But many remain, undocumented and at risk due to a lack of public knowledge of their significance and cultural value.
Since around the 1990s, councils throughout New Zealand have been developing public art policies, collections, and maintenance procedures to care for their civic art treasures. Research into the role of public art, both internationally and in Aotearoa, has reinforced these approaches demonstrating that public art can deliver multiple social, economic, cultural and health benefits. This bodes well for public artworks being produced today, but what about works developed before these policies came about: those that have slipped through the gaps?
Public Art Heritage Aotearoa New Zealand has been established to ensure that future generations of New Zealanders have knowledge of, and access to, these cultural treasures. We are seeking to find, document, and protect what remains of Aotearoa’s 20th Century public art heritage (works made and installed in public spaces between 1900-1999).
This website lists all works on our register that have been through a process of research and auditing, to confirm accurate information about each work to the best of our abilities. Through this we are seeking to increase awareness about public art works, improve education resourcing about the artists and art works, and provide a means of protection if the art works are threatened by development.
