Action stations

It’s all go on the museum development front at the moment, as four major projects are simultaneously working towards making the museum look super. The big one, Blue Water Black Magic – A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, continues on its merry way with the fit out progressing at an impressive rate. With construction having been completed several weeks ago, the exhibitions team are going through the massive process of installing all the priceless artefacts and groovy interactive stations. There’s also the not-so-insignificant job of proofreading all the panels that will accompany objects, and help tell the stories of New Zealand’s yachting prowess. The majority of the fit-out will actually be complete shortly to allow us several weeks to test the space, including a series of soft-openings with some lucky people.

Yellow ‘RESTRICTED AREA’ tape guards the concourse entry to the top secret Blue Water Black Magic exhibition. We also lock the doors, just in case someone manages to get past the tape.

The Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art is also nearing its public re-opening on 20 November. Given its proximity to Blue Water Black Magic, the Edmiston Gallery was temporarily closed to redevelop the space. Much of the gallery is complete, although as you can see from the photo, there’s still the odd piece that needs installing.

A wooden figurehead waiting, waiting, waiting for installation.

A major refit of our front-of-house and shop has also commenced, to transform it into a modern and welcoming space. As the photo shows, the old area has been stripped right back and we’re essentially starting afresh. We’ve reclaimed some of space from the western side to increase its size, which will give us more room to display a cool new range of museum merchandise and gifts that we’re having prepared. The museum’s entrance has temporarily shifted around the eastern side to the start of Princes Wharf, with the new area ready for the start of November.

Resembling little more than a work site at present, come Monday 2 November this space will be unrecognisable as its predecessor.

One project that’s almost complete is a repaint of our entire building footprint. Many people don’t realise just how big the museum is, due in part to the disjointed appearance of our buildings. So we’ve taken some action, and painted almost everything black. Bold, awe inspiring, New Zealand black. It even includes repainting the massive cradle that supports KZ1 at the front entrance of the museum. The painting is also part of a much larger and far more exciting project that we’ll be able to announce in a couple of weeks...