Sarjeant Happenings: Celebrating the Corner Dairy
28 Dec, 2020 04:00 PM
4 minutes to read
Whanganui Chronicle
By: Helen Frances
An icon of Kiwi culture, the corner dairy is the subject of an object-based art exhibition at Sarjeant on the Quay's i-Site gallery. Curated by James Hope, Corner Dairy offers a nostalgic, funny, and at times satirical evocation of the shop that has been a valued part of New Zealand's social fabric since the early 1900s.
Hope's inspiration for the exhibition came when driving one day through Gonville.
"I was driving past the dairy on Alma Rd. The sun was setting and there was this big yellow sign that said 'Open' and it was all lit up. This one is a big two storied, wooden dairy; people live up the top and the dairy is on the bottom. It seemed like such a classic Kiwi scene to drive past. So the idea evolved from there."