On The Up: The jawdropping revival of a creative village at Waiohiki

Potter John Gisborne rests in the courtyard at the Waiohiki Creative Arts Village, which with an open day on Saturday celebrates its transformation from Cyclone Gabrielle devastation to a functioning arts and community hub again, with soul. Photo / Doug Laing

If there was anything that was definitely going to be recreated after the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle, it was the Waiohiki Creative Arts Village.

And so it’s proved. The village marks its revival with an 11am-4pm public open day on Saturday.

On the morning of February 14, 2023, jaws were dropping as floodwaters a metre deep flowed through the State Highway 50 village, a former dairy factory, between Taradale and the Napier Golf Club.

Almost a thousand days later, jaws will be dropping again as people see the evidence of one community’s recovery to the point where you’d never guess the disaster had happened.

It will feature the work of varying art forms in the names of Lou Mathieson, John Gisborne, Emily Armstrong, Shakey Art Studio, Roberta Made, Jacob Scott and Jason Kendrick, Terri Dangen, and the Taradale Pottery Club.

Some of the artists, including members of the Taradale Pottery Club, take a break at the Waiohiki Creative Arts Village, a former dairy factory. Photo / Doug Laing

An initiative of the Waiohiki Community Trust more than two decades ago, the village has more than 100 members, from painters to potters, carvers, innovators with modern materials and contemporary Maori artists.

There are those who will make anything out of anything, from the glasswork of Mathieson and the glass and stone work of Shakey Art’s Trish and Steve Simmers, to the Roberta Made recycled denim of local Roberta Hawaikirangi, and the carved panels produced by digital and contemporary artist Jason Kendrick, made from recycled commercial fishing nets..

The devastation of the Waiohiki Creative Arts Village in the days after Cyclone Gabrielle, in February 2023. Almost two years and nine months later, an open day at the village on Saturday will mark its revival and serve as a tribute to those who helped with the clean-up.

Some artists are new to the village, replacing those who have followed different paths since the tempest that took away many of their creations and three residences (including the Helen Mason cottage), but couldn’t take away the village’s soul.

Potter John Gisborne stayed, rebuilding the kiln that had been almost complete when the floods came.

“Three days before the cyclone, we put down the concrete pad,” he recalls. “Hundreds of bricks lost in the silt.”

Kendrick, a former project manager on large construction sites and who, with Scott, specialises in repurposing materials, calls it a “revitalisation of the community”.

Gisborne recalls the cyclone with a sense of perspective: “We had about an hour from getting our feet wet to get out. Others [in other areas] had just minutes, and that’s why lives were lost.”

Although memories of the event linger, the spirit is to move on and thoughts about the cyclone are mainly of the recovery, and the spontaneous efforts of dozens of people who came to help clear the site of its debris.

Organisers of the public open day at Waiohiki Creative Arts Village on Saturday say it wouldn't have been possible without the help that followed the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.

Gisborne says the community “can’t thank them enough”, and that without them the revival might not have happened.

Part of that thanks is the open day, where the artists showcase and sell the work, much of it stemming from sustainability and recycling principles and the need to make use of items and materials no longer able to be used for anything else.

Organisers say it’s a family day, with activities that include “trying a hand” at some of the craftwork forms exhibited, and creating budding new artists.

Recognising the busy nature of the road outside – otherwise known as Korokipo Rd – off-road parking is available, along with assistance getting from the parking area if needed.

Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter based in Napier, with more than 50 years’ experience covering local and regional news, including community affairs.