8 Bates Street, Aukaki Stream-Wanganui, Wanganui

Quartz Museum

Wanganui Museums

An admirable shoestring museum, open to the public, run by the charitable foundation of Rick Rudd, ceramic artist. Since 2015 Rudd has housed here his own collection of 250 pieces retained from the timeline of his own career, as well as other pottery works. His speciality is in stylised teapot shapes from all corners of the imagination.

The New Zealand History Collection consists of almost 100 pieces illustrating the development of studio ceramics from the early 20th century to the present day.

The name ‘Quartz’ will be meaningful to anyone who has dabbled anywhere near pottery, quartz being a valuable ingredient in quality potting clays and glazes.

For his purposes, studio and display, Rudd has taken up 8 Bates Street, Whanganui, a 1960 Payne Sewell building, marvel of brutalist architecture itself. The building had been unacknowledged in its setting but Rudd recognised it would form an exceptional display space.

Rudd is determined that he has created a museum, not a gallery. Most of the display is permanent, only a few items are for sale in the onsite shop. Sitting opposite the Whanganui District Courthouse, the museum has been dubbed the “Quartz of Appeal.”

As a cornerstone in Whanganui’s growing cultural environment, near the river and no distance at all from the city, the Quartz Museum is a worthy destination. It is a stroll across the gardens from the Whanganui Regional Museum and opposite historic Moutoa Gardens.

Comment From Alison Stephens: A little but very interesting museum with heaps of potential. There is no entry fee but there is a donation box. It took us about an hour to see the collection of ceramic works from well known potters across New Zealand. We were particularly keen to see the Len Castle collection. Beautiful potter.

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