Creativity from Paul Hunter Centre on exhibit

Art from Paul Hunter Centre - exhibiting from March 14 to June 14 at the CHB Museum, High St, Waipawa.

This week a group of clients from Waipukurau's Paul Hunter Centre took a trip to Waipawa for a very special event ... the opening of their own art exhibition at the CHB Museum.

Paul Hunter Centre manager Katrina Jamieson says the group is very familiar with the museum, as they visit all the exhibitions, but this is the first time their own artworks have featured.

"We have an art tutor, Martina Magee, come and work with us once a week. This is funded through Creative Communities, by the CHB District Council. Before they came on board we were only able to have classes with Martina once a month.

"In the past she has organised for our clients to show their work in shop windows in town ... but this is the first time we have had an actual exhibition."

Paul Hunter Centre was established in Waipukurau 28 years ago to support people with mental health conditions, physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, or ongoing health conditions.

It was dubbed the CHB Disability Resource Centre and was based at the old Waipukurau hospital in the Paul Hunter ward.

The name change came about when the centre was moved to its current premises — the old Waipukurau police station in River Terrace. After approaching the Hunter family, it was decided to be renamed the Paul Hunter Centre.

Paul Hunter Centre clients come from throughout CHB and the centre has two fulltime staff, five part-time staff and a group of seven volunteers who support the clients to lead everyday lives. The centre is governed by a group of eight executive committee members, comprising staff, family, client representatives and members of the community.

The main objective of the Paul Hunter Centre is to enable people to have a good life — to participate in activities, services, and facilities that are part of the daily lives of New Zealanders.

Cooking, interacting with people in the community, arts and crafts, sports, going to the gym, and digital technology are just some of what the centre offers, and community participation usually has clients linking with other local services for sporting and social activities.

"With the concerns around Covid, a lot of our outings and visits have been put on hold, so art and crafts and things we can do within the centre have become very important to us," Katrina says.

"It was a matter of taking what the clients enjoyed the most ... and doing more of them. So we're doing a lot of art and craft and singing.

"Art brings a lot of joy, our clients love it, they talk and laugh and when they have finished a piece of work it is displayed at the centre until they decide to take it home, or it's filed away until we get to show the works in a public space. We have some very talented people at the centre, it's interesting how everyone's interpretations are so different.

"We hope that lots of people go along to see our Paul Hunter Centre exhibition, and that they enjoy it as much as our artists enjoyed creating it."

Art from Paul Hunter Centre — exhibiting from March 14 to June 14 at the CHB Museum, High St, Waipawa.

What: Paul Hunter Centre Paintings and Clay Exhibition

Where: CHB Museum, High St Waipawa

When: March 14 until June 14, every day from 10am-4pm.