Mangere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku - Opening Weekend

A full weekend of art and live performance celebrating creativity and talent from across Manukau, Aotearoa and the Pacific.

Manukau City Council is working on the new Mangere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku which will be officially opened on 3 September 2010.

The facility will meet the needs of the culturally diverse and vibrant Mangere community. The purpose-built complex will both nurture and present the diversity of arts, crafts and cultural activities that underpin the unique character of Mangere’s 60,000 people. It will be a source of great pride to Mangere and will create ways of connecting Mangere with other New Zealanders by showcasing Mangere as an important creative and cultural hub.

The arts centre will include: 390 m² of performing arts space, 217 m² of gallery space, 56 m² studio space and many foyers, offices, dressing rooms, community kitchen, a cafe and an outdoor courtyard.

One of the aims of the centre is to showcase artists in the community by providing a professional, high-quality venue with knowledgeable and skilled staff that are passionate about Mangere. The arts centre is for people of all backgrounds and ages, and will offer a wide range of arts experiences from visual arts, crafts, heritage arts and multimedia to performing arts, theatre, dance and music. The centre will be a unique community arts facility with a particular focus on Maori and Pacific visual arts and performing arts – with the vision of developing a profile of national and international significance.