Issue #1052

by Ruth Heath

This month, Te Atamira celebrates another year of existence. And what an incredible existence it is. Only four years young and what an extraordinary gift and asset this is for our community.

When Te Atamira opened its doors in 2022, it reflected a strong belief that arts and culture are an essential part of healthy, connected communities, fulfilling a clear need for a facility of this kind in our region. Alongside presenting art in its many forms and creating space for creativity to be seeded and made, Te Atamira was established as a place for people to gather, participate, learn, create and connect.

A few years on, I see and hear every day that Te Atamira is proving the value of that vision.

Every week, more than 2,000 people walk through our doors for exhibitions, performances, workshops, classes, kōrero, music, dance and connection. They experience local creativity alongside artists of world-class scale, including our upcoming exhibition with internationally celebrated jewellery artist Lisa Walker.

And the stories are moving: the parent who found community through Wriggle & Rhyme after feeling isolated. The older adult rediscovering purpose through artmaking. The young person realising creativity could become a pathway, not just a hobby. The person quietly saying, “I feel like I belong here.”

People tell us: “Te Atamira has changed my life.” “It has made Queenstown feel like a proper town with facilities based on building community.”

In a world that increasingly feels disconnected and transactional, spaces like this matter more than ever.

Recent Helen Clark Foundation research found social cohesion in New Zealand is declining, and that one of the strongest protective factors is investment in places where people can meaningfully connect across differences. That is exactly the role places like Te Atamira play.

We often celebrate sports and recreation facilities as essential infrastructure for wellbeing - and rightly so. But arts and cultural spaces deserve to be seen the same way. Creativity helps us celebrate joy, process grief, preserve culture, build empathy and strengthen social connection. It helps us imagine better futures.

Te Atamira is a living expression of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga - care, connection and belonging. Beneath the global tourism image, this region is home to a deeply creative community seeking meaning, expression and connection to place.

None of this happens by accident. Te Atamira exists because people believed in it - our founding philanthropists, Te Atamira Whakatipu Community Trust Board, mana whenua, our amazing team, residents, artists, volunteers, partners, funders, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Three Lakes Cultural Trust, and the many community members who continue to shape and support this place every day.

Te Atamira belongs to all of us, and we can’t wait to share what’s next with you.