News
If the children can't come to the art, the art comes to them.
He Waka Tuia has installed elements from its Play exhibition inside the Children's Ward at Southland Hospital, bringing vinyl colouring sheets, neon artworks and interactive displays to the ward's walls. The exhibition puts the children of Southland at its heart and has become a highly anticipated annual fixture. Play 5.0, marking the exhibition's fifth instalment, opened at the Invercargill transitional art gallery and museum in July, and now a modified version is on show in the ward.
He Waka Tuia outreach curator Saskia Whall said the pieces in the ward were elements from previous versions of Play. She said the collaboration also gave the gallery an opportunity to ensure children admitted to the ward could still be part of what was happening in the community.
"Art makes the world so much more beautiful and more interesting. We know Play has become so well-loved, and so highly-anticipated, within our community," Whall said.
"Children are almost mouldable – in many cases, you learn where your interests lie when you are relatively young and these continue to grow as you get older. Getting kids interested in, and involved in, the arts opens so many doors they can walk through during their lives."
The team worked to reimagine previous Play displays and tweaked them to work within the ward's space.
Health New Zealand General Manager of Southland Hospital Simon Donlevy said the Children's Ward was a bright, welcoming space decorated to help children and their families feel comfortable and at ease.
"Bringing the Play exhibition into the ward is a lovely extension of that positive environment, giving the ward more colour, interest and stimulation for everyone who spends time there," Donlevy said.
"It is really special for the Children's Ward to have this collaboration with the inner-city art gallery, He Waka Tuia, to remind us of the relationship and connection between the hospital and the city and communities we serve."
He Waka Tuia manager Sarah Brown said the collaboration was believed to be the first of its kind between a public art facility and a children's ward at a public hospital in the country.
"We are delighted that the team at Southland Hospital was willing to work with us to bring something so special to life. There's evidence from around the world that demonstrates just how therapeutic art can be. While every exhibition is special, this one feels particularly meaningful for us all, and we're really thrilled at the prospect of bringing some joy and creativity to lives of children and their families within the Children's Ward," Brown said.
"Play is for everyone, and the popularity of the exhibition year-after-year shows just how deeply it resonates with our wider community. If some of our community's youngest art lovers were unable to come to Play at He Waka Tuia this year, it is our pleasure to be able to take it to them."