Closed to the general public for the majority of the year, unless by appointment well in advance, Kaipara Harbour's Gibbs Farm will open its gates for one day this March to raise funds for Auckland Art Gallery.
In short: funding for the Gallery from Auckland Council has been cut over the past few years and it's currently operating with the same budget as it was a decade ago, despite opening major new exhibition spaces. The Spinoff published and in-depth piece about the calamity, which you can read over here.
The 400ha farm, privately owned by New Zealand businessman Alan Gibbs, is an expansive open-air sculpture park that boasts the greatest collection of large-scale outdoor artworks in the country, most of which are site-specific commissions by some of the world's most renowned artists. Major works include: Anish Kapoor's giant red horned 'Dismemberment, Site 1', Marijke de Goey's 'Tango Dancers' and 'The Mermaid', Len Lye's second kinetic 'Wind Wand' installation, and Leon van den Eijkel's huge concrete cube structure 'Red Cloud Confrontation in Landscape'.
Punters that join the March 3 open day will be given free rein of the park, have the opportunity to be introduced to selected artworks by those in the know from Auckland Art Gallery, and come face-to-face with the exotic animals that occupy the farm.
Sustenance from Eat My Lunch and transport can be added in the ticket package.
Image: David Hartley