Mayor's Speech - Diplomatic Dinner and Monet Showing

Your Excellencies, friends from the Diplomatic Corps, councillors, distinguished guests. Good evening and welcome to this special occasion.

I hope you've all enjoyed your meal - and I hope you're all ready for a feast for the eyes.

Last time I was in this auditorium it was a jazz club. Here we are, a few days later, apparently inside an Impressionist painting. It's amazing what can be achieved when creative people put their minds to work.

We are gathered here this evening to enjoy the work of some fantastically creative minds. There are 56 paintings by some of the world's greatest artists in the Monet and the Impressionists exhibition.

It includes 27 paintings by Claude Monet and masterpieces by Renoir,
Degas and Cezanne, among others, which provide a fascinating comparison.

It is the largest and richest collection of Impressionist paintings ever to come to New Zealand. It is to be seen only in Wellington and its stay at Te Papa is the fruit of three years of negotiation between Te Papa, the exhibition's co-host the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

They are lovely paintings, and great examples of the artist's eye finding the extraordinary in the ordinary things of life.

Or as Camille Pissarro, one of the artists whose work you will see tonight, said: "Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing."

And how we're enjoying seeing beautiful things. At close of business
yesterday, 37,468 people had bought tickets for Monet and the Impressionists.

That's an average of nearly 1,500 people a day. By way of comparison, the Constable exhibition in 2006 was drawing an average 1,060 per day.

If this level of interest is maintained, Monet and the Impressionists will be Te Papa's most successful paid-admission art exhibition.

I won't say too much about the exhibition, as we will soon be hearing from a real expert, the curator who will show us around the exhibition.

But I was interested to learn why so many of these paintings have ended up in Boston. It seems at the time these artists were painting, their work was not appreciated in France because it was such a break from the prevalent realist tradition of the time.

France's loss was the New World's gain as American buyers, unshackled by old European preconceptions, snapped the paintings up.

There is a warning for us all here: there's nothing quite as sad as a missed opportunity. We must recognise the talent we have and ensure it can flourish and be appreciated without having to cross the ocean.

We are proud to call Wellington the arts and culture capital of New Zealand. Some years ago the City Council identified the creative sector as one which should be encouraged and we work hard to ensure that creative people can thrive here in a supportive atmosphere.

Wellington is home to great creative minds producing world-class work across a range of fields, from film making to fashion. In the visual arts, the work of Wellingtonian Rita Angus has achieved the status of a national icon.

The City Council gives Te Papa $2 million support a year, and we are proud too to be supporting Monet and the Impressionists. Our own City Gallery is currently undergoing a $6.3 million extension and improvement, another sign of our commitment to the arts.

I am always pleased to see corporate partners for cultural events. In this case we can thank the hotel group Accor Hospitality for bringing the exhibition to New Zealand and Visa for its sponsorship of the gallery in which the paintings hang.

Thank you too to everyone involved in the preparation and smooth running of this evening, especially to Red Pebble Creative Design for the transformation of this auditorium.

Now I understand our coaches will be waiting in Wakefield Street to take us to Te Papa. Thank you all for coming to what promises to be a memorable Wellington evening.

The speech delivered may vary from this text.

Department Details:
Mayor's Office