Clubhouse success to be marked with giant mural

A giant collaborative mural will be unveiled this month to mark the popularity and success of the international Clubhouse concept with young people in Lower Hutt’s Taita and Naenae.

The Naenae Clubhouse, set up six years ago, and the Taita Clubhouse, which opened last year, are after school youth technology and creativity spaces, free for 10 to 18-year-olds. They are part of MIT in Boston’s Clubhouse Network of more than 100 clubhouses around the world.

Clubhouse members work with adult mentors to create their own projects in music, art, computer science, gaming, electronics, robotics, graphic design, fashion design, film-making and more. The two Lower Hutt clubhouses are supported by Hutt City Libraries.

The mural, which celebrates Taita and Naenae’s shared heritage, is made up of a series of panels which reference geometric patterns from maps and images in the community. It will be housed in Naenae Community Library.

Naenae Clubhouse Coordinator Lily Chalmers says, “This is the first time the two clubhouses have collaborated on a project and it’s been a fantastic experience. The mural is stunning and also represents a lot of our pride in our community.”

Local artist Gabby O’Connor has been overseeing the project alongside clubhouse members and with support from Hutt City Creative Communities Scheme and paint manufacturer Resene.

Ms Connor and a clubhouse member who worked on the mural will talk at the launch, which is from 4pm, 24 August at the Naenae Community Library.

Ms O’Connor has often worked with young people, including hands-on art learning and collaborative projects with schools and communities. She has exhibited around New Zealand, including Wellington’s City Gallery and Christchurch’s Ice Festival, and overseas. Last year she travelled to Antarctica with NIWA to help document their research, and currently has an extensive exhibition of this work at Pataka Art Museum in Porirua.