Christchurch Art Gallery: Wikis

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Updated live from Wikipedia, last check: May 30, 2012 22:42 UTC (35 seconds ago)

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Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu
Building
Gallery exterior
Owner	Christchurch City Council
Coordinates	43°31′50″S 172°37′52″E / 43.53056°S 172.63111°E / -43.53056; 172.63111Coordinates: 43°31′50″S 172°37′52″E / 43.53056°S 172.63111°E / -43.53056; 172.63111
Inaugurated	10 May 2003
Design team
Architecture Firm	Buchan Group

The Christchurch Art Gallery, with the formal name of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is funded by Christchurch City Council. It has its own substantial art collection and presents a programme of New Zealand and international exhibitions. The gallery opened on 10 May 2003, replacing the city's former public art gallery, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, which opened on 16 June 1932 and closed on 16 June 2002.

The Māori elements of the name are explained as follows: Te Puna honours waipuna, the artesian spring beneath the gallery and Waiwhetu refers to one of the tributaries in the immediate vicinity, which flows into the River Avon. Waiwhetu may also be translated as ‘water in which stars are reflected’.