WAI – the water project is a multimedia exhibition that celebrates fresh water as a natural element essential to our wellbeing. It considers notions of public and private responsibility to our shared resources and our legacy for future generations. This project was initiated by Ashburton Art Gallery and is an offshoot of that, curated by two of the artists, Bruce Foster and Gregory O’Brien. Other artists featured are Jacqui Colley, Phil Dadson, Bing Dawe, Brett Graham, Ross Hemera, Euan Macleod, Jenna Packer, Dani Terrizzi, Elizabeth Thomson, Peter Trevelyan and Kate Woods. Image: Bruce Foster, 'Untitled, Te Waihora', 2017, Pigment print on Hahnemühle paper. Courtesy of Bartley + Company Art, Wellington.

Image: Gail Imhoff, 'Papa Mata', 2020, digital image

A nucleus of Kiwiana, the proliferation of the New Zealand dairy developed out of necessity – during the depression of the 1930s, front rooms of houses were either built or converted to accommodate a small shop selling grocery items and confectionary. However, dairies sit in the unenviable position of both precariousness and necessity; they operate on very slim margins and their future may be uncertain. This exhibition utilises the New Zealand dairy as a cultural point of contact that represents ingenuity, economy of means, nostalgia and a sense of fun. It brings together works that depict everyday items, for example confectionary, fruit and Kiwiana – the kinds of things found at the dairy, or reference the dairy itself. It could be a paean or lament to the shifting status of the dairy in New Zealand culture. Image: Ann verdcourt, 'Ceramic fruit tray and fruit', clay. Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. Gift of the artist.

Each month a member of our community is invited to browse our online collection and select six of their favourite artworks. Each ‘My Choice’ selection, together with personal responses to the works, will be available to view on the Sarjeant Gallery website for one month at a time. The January 2021 My Choice has been selected by James Hope, curator and writer, and is available to view until 31 January 2021. Image: James Fraser Scott, 'Loading Gondolas, Venice', c. 1896-1907. Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. Purchased, 1954.