Risingholme Learning in Ōtautahi Christchurch completed its year of 80th birthday celebrations in style, with a final celebratory function held in the centre’s beautiful grounds on a balmy October night. With the Risingholme Orchestra setting the ambience for the occasion, a dedicated group of tutors, learners, staff, invited guests and members of the wider ACE community came together for the formal cake cutting and unveiling of 14 history panels that shared the story of Risingholme as a place of learning and leisure.
Current Risingholme Community Centre President Damian Sims spoke about the vision behind marking the significant milestone and reflected on some of the celebratory highlights. The core values of Risingholme were central to the events throughout the year, with a focus on enjoyment, enhancement, effortless learning and tradition. Events through the year included Community Cuppas, free course tasters for Have a Go Day, an art exhibition called Rise Up – celebrating 80 years of creativity at Risingholme, and a showcase of Risingholme’s heritage through the development of permanent historical panels, just in time for Christchurch’s Heritage Festival.
Risingholme Director Lynda Megson acknowledged Risingholme’s long legacy within the ACE sector and its wider role as a community centre. She noted how the panel project offered an opportunity to delve into their archives and begin piecing together some of the stories, events, and key people who collectively contributed to Risingholme’s history.
“Community is at the heart of who we are and what we do. When planning our big 80th we wanted to create collaborative events that showcased the wonderful work of the people who have helped Risingholme grow and thrive as an organisation.”
Like any great party, there was a cake, cut by life member Judith Bradshaw before the history panels were unveiled by life members Mary Simons and Raewyn Cooke, who is also a former director.
The 14 panels installed in the Risingholme Homestead cover the period from 1864 to today and are divided into four sections that capture the community spirit and legacy of learning.
The first tells the story of Risingholme Homestead and its background as a private residence, including memories from Peg Moorhouse who lived there when it was a private home.
The second section covers the transition from a private home to a public community centre. From this emerges the story of Risingholme as an important place for the community to gather, covering topics like the early programme and facilities built for and by community members. The final section explores the story of Risingholme as a place of learning with pull-out stories focusing on themes such as women in leadership and collaborations with other organisations, including ACE Aotearoa.
Bojana Rimbovska, Community Liaison Coordinator at Risingholme Learning, said Risingholme was fortunate to receive two grants from Christchurch City Council to help fund the costs of an archivist for the project and to assist with the production costs of the panels which will remain in the house permanently.
“The panel unveiling and official 80th function was a great event and a fabulous way to conclude our celebrations. Having the orchestra there, which also played at our 50th jubilee, as well as so many life members really helped with acknowledging the historical significance of reaching 80 years.
We brought together our complete learning community including people from ACE Aotearoa, AKO and our personal community of tutors and supporters. This was particularly special because it is central to our philosophy of embracing community and learning.”
During September, Risingholme hosted the exhibition Rise Up: Celebrating 80 Years of Creativity at Risingholme showcasing both tutor and learner works. More than 300 people attended the weekend event and 52 learners and tutors exhibited their work, with some pieces available for sale. Nearly 100 art works were exhibited by learners, from pottery and painting through to Zentangle, patchwork and wood sculpture.
Bojana said the exhibition not only gave people a chance to share their work, it also provided the opportunity for artists to understand the process of exhibiting in a supportive environment. “We had learners buying work from each other, cross pollination as learners made the decision to join another course, and we had visitors who were new to Risingholme keen to enrol in a future course. It was a great weekend.”
One of the exhibitors, Sarah, said the day was all about exhibiting her work and being part of a community enjoying its art. “It was a wonderful opportunity to get out and show the world what we do.”
