History of Te Pani Trust

The Te Pani vision began nine years ago with limestone sculpting on the roadside sand dunes at South Brighton.

In 2001, Te Pani Trust was formally established and a stone carving workshop leased at 165 Seaview Road, New Brighton.

Over the past 5 years Te Pani Trust in New Brighton has become established amongst local art and social agency networks.

We are a member of Arts Access Aoteoroa, a networking organisation for the 90-odd 'Creative Spaces' that provide artistic, personal and financial rewards to groups in society who face barriers accessing the arts. These arts access opportunities work on the premise that creativity is a level playing field and students of all abilities are welcome in our classes.

The trust ran a gallery/cafe during 2004-2005, but soon decided to refocus the resources we had on our carving activities.

Like any community group operating at a grass roots level, we have had to redevine our core goals over the years and learned to balance new projects with sustainability. Plans to reopen the larger gallery are again underway, and we have created a small gallery in our workshop/office space.

Trustees and staff are continually inspired by the positive effect of stone carving form those who are differently able. The Trust offers introductory and advanced stone sculpture classes to the general public. The aim is to make stone carving accessible for people who face barriers or challenges due to a disability, illness or a history of social disadvantage. Spending time carving gives people a vehicle to cope with stress and be able to express their own creativity in a stimulating and empowering environment. For some people Te Pani Trust scupture/carving classes are the beginning of a new career in the arts.