History & Culture
The 'Dowse' name comes from the late Mrs Mary Dowse, wife of a former Mayor of Lower Hutt, Mr Percy Dowse. Mary championed the idea of an art gallery for the people of Lower Hutt.
Sadly neither Mary nor Percy lived to see The Dowse Art Gallery open in 1971. Mary was killed in an accident in 1964 and Percy died shortly months before the opening. The original galleries, always intended as the first stage in a larger art gallery and museum 'cluster', is the area now known as the Wallace Wing.
During the 1970s The Dowse Art Gallery established a strong reputation as a regional art gallery, under directors David Millar and Jim Barr.
This changed, along with the name, in the 1980s with the arrival of the third director, James Mack. Mack inherited an extended building, which now included a new 'museum wing' to the north (now the Silbery Longrun Gallery, James Coe Centre and Pataka Toi). Under his leadership The Dowse Art Museum shifted its focus to play a national leadership role in the development and celebration of New Zealand's decorative arts.
At the same time the 1850s carved Maori Pataka Nukutewhatewha was gifted to the City, to be cared for as part of The Dowse Art Museum collection. It remains the most significant taonga (treasure) in our care.
This direction was maintained by the fourth director, Bob Maysmor, whose leadership also strengthened infrastructure and collection management procedures.
With the arrival of the current director, Tim Walker, in 1998 came another shift in direction and name. Building on the strong focus on the decorative arts The Dowse programmes opened up to engage and stimulate a wider range of visitors. Ranging from art to design , from fashion to hip hop, and from photography to youth entrepreneurship The Dowse developed a diverse range of exhibitions that have provided the basis for it becoming New Zealand's most active touring exhibition organiser.
From 2007 TheNewDowse seeks to showcase the work of creative people across a range of disciplines.
Play. Think. Create. Learn. Discover. TheNewDowse is about presenting creativity in it’s many forms. It’s about engaging visitors in the creativity of others, facilitating creative collaborations and encouraging you to explore your creativity.