Photographic exhibition Our Places of Worship opens at Whanganui Regional Museum

A new exhibition Our Places of Worship, a collaboration between the Whanganui Camera Club and Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust, is open at Whanganui Regional Museum. Photo / Karen Hughes, Whanganui Regional Museum

A photographic exhibition of churches and places of worship has opened at the Whanganui Regional Museum.

The exhibition, Our Places of Worship, combines print and digital photography captured in 2024 in the wider Whanganui region. It is a collaboration between the Whanganui Camera Club and Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust.

Featuring the work of 24 club photographers, the project documents 70 sites of architectural significance, with more than 2000 digital images. The images have been archived in the Alexander Heritage and Research Library/Te Rerenga mai o te Kāuru. Of these, 40 prints are on display, alongside a digital display of about 200 images.

The original print exhibition unveiled last year at the Whanganui Arts Centre was curated by Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery director Andrew Clifford, architects and Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust members Bruce Dickson and Denis McGowan, and Beverley Sinclair and John Smart from the Whanganui Camera Club.

The exhibition 'honours not just the buildings, but the stories and communities behind them'. Photo / Karen Hughes, Whanganui Regional Museum

The museum exhibition has been curated by Maeve Egan, the museum’s kaihāpai taonga/curator.

“This exhibition honours not just the buildings, but the stories and communities behind them,” Egan said.

“It’s an evocative tribute to the region’s spiritual heritage, captured through the eyes of passionate local photographers. We’re thrilled to offer visitors a chance to experience these spaces in a new light.”

Our Places of Worship is open daily from 10am to 4.30pm until September 16, at the Whanganui Regional Museum, Watt St. Entry is free, with koha (donations) welcome to support the museum’s work.