Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Carmel Sepuloni will officially open a community space at Tauranga Historic Village designed to provide social connection through art and creativity on Wednesday August 9.

Sepuloni, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, will be able to see the campus in action with multiple groups such as a Pacific tavaevae quilting group, a multicultural ethnic sewing group, a Ngāti Ranginui rangatahi workshop, and a community pottery group all utilising the campus spaces during her visit.

The Incubator Creative Hub jumped at an opportunity to repurpose a building at the Historic Village into a creative campus offering workshops, artistic demonstrations and events. Purchase of the building was made possible with the help of a Lotteries Communities Facility Grant in 2023.

The Creative Campus offers workshops, artistic demonstrations and events both indoors and outdoors. Photo: Supplied.

The Incubator's director, Simone Anderson says the multi-room, indoor-outdoor campus began trial operations late last year, and since then demand and use has grown steadily grown.

“Thanks to the new campus space, we can now offer a wider variety of creative workshops and to more people."

Operating out of village for nearly 10 years, The Incubator Creative Hub has 16 other spaces already under its umbrella catering to what staff say is a creativity-hungry Tauranga audience.

“We know the demand for creative workshops and demonstrations, workshops, events and displays in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty, so were grateful to be able to purchase this building when it became available last year."

The addition of the new Creative Campus was the logical next step for The Incubator Creative Hub that is the umbrella for multiple galleries, a music venue, a cinema, a pottery hub, artist studios, a photography studio, fashion outlets and whakairo all based at the Tauranga Historic Village in 17th Ave.

“Understanding the importance of arts and creative outlets for all people - including the roles that creativity, the arts and the artists themselves play in creating a healthy society and helping to transform social wellbeing by providing extraordinary experiences is at the heart of The Incubator Creative Hub,' says Simone.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer a safe space to serve the need for social connection, self-improvement, opportunities for rangatahi, tamariki, creatives and the retired community and to bring together people of all ages and ethnicities.”

The Creative Campus offers workshops, artistic demonstrations and events both indoors and outdoors. Photo: Supplied.

“It is important to support and validate the grassroots creative sector and to celebrate achievements such as the opening of this facility which will have a huge impact on local Tauranga communities and wellness," says Labour list MP and long-time The Incubator supporter Angie Warren-Clark.

"Investment in arts, culture and creativity is essential for positive impact on well-being, social cohesion, and education as well as the economy. The arts are not a luxury but significant in contributing to a vibrant and inclusive community.”

Established in 2013, The Incubator is a vibrant and diverse destination where audience, creatives and community arts groups meet to practice, celebrate, showcase and experience art and culture.

The Incubator Creative Hub has 10 permanent staff members and 21 resident artists, and spaces include:

· The Incubator Gallery

· The People’s Gallery – Toi Ka Rere

· The Pot House

· Okorore - Ngā Toi Maori Gallery & Studios

· The Artist Window Gallery

· The Village Cinema

· The Jam Factory

· Te Whare Toi o te Moana (Whakairo Hub)

· The Community Creative Campus

· Villa Studios (Artist Studios)

· Satellite Studios (Artist Studios)

· Nape Clothing

· Brook Street Studios

· Black Smith Studios

· Phreaze Factory

· The Light Lab

For more information go to www.theincubator.co.nz