As one door closes, another opens. In April, Canterbury Museum will close its doors for five years for a major redevelopment and a pop-up museum will open on the first floor of the nearby CoCA building.

The Museum closed temporarily on January 3 and a team of street artists moved in to take over the space for the exhibition SHIFT: Urban Art Takeover. Once that exhibition ends in April, the doors will close till 2028.

The Museum will lease the CoCA Centre of Contemporary Art Toi Moroki building at 66 Gloucester Street from early February. About half the space will be dedicated to temporary exhibitions and the other half given over to highlights from the Museum’s permanent galleries.

“At the end of last year we were encouraging people to come and farewell their favourites but the good news is that a few of those favourites will be shifting only just down the road,” Director Anthony Wright says.

“We’re conscious that our five-year closure is particularly impactful on young families, so there will be lots for kids to learn about and do in the pop-up museum. We’re also keen to provide visitors to Canterbury somewhere to learn about this region’s history,” he says.

In May last year, the Canterbury Society of Arts Charitable Trust, which operates CoCA, paused operations.

“After a number challenges, including COVID, we were facing significant financial difficulties and needed more than $150,000 to replace the building’s air-conditioning system. Partnering with Canterbury Museum is exceptionally positive,” says Trust Board Chair Anna Ryan.

The 1968 building, one of the few remaining examples of the Christchurch modernist style the city has left, is “an integral part of Christchurch’s cultural fabric”, she says.

The Christchurch City Council intends to grant $75,000 towards an upgrade of the building’s heating and ventilation system. The Museum will contribute the remaining funds needed for this $150,000 improvement, which will make the building suitable for the display of artefacts and more comfortable for visitors.

canterburymuseum.com
coca.org.nz