Last year, Tauranga’s Incubator Creative Hub celebrated its tenth anniversary. Established in 2013 by Simone Anderson, the Hub is located in the Historic Village in Tauranga South. The vision of the Hub is that the creative arts are nurtured, encouraged and showcased, making creative experiences accessible to all from the grassroots up.

The first step in achieving this vision was the acquisition of the “big red barn” which was converted into The Incubator Gallery and studio spaces for artists. Community volunteers gave long hours to make sure the space, leased from Historic Village, was suitable and from there followed a series of 16 other studios and spaces, as well as the Creative Community Campus, the Village Community Cinema, the Jam Factory for music performances, the Pot House for ceramics and pottery work and the Artists Window Gallery that provides a retail space for artists’ work.

The intent of the Incubator was to provide a tangible, vibrant and diverse destination where creatives and community arts groups could meet to practise, celebrate, showcase and experience art and culture. It generates opportunities for participation, knowledge and education while demonstrating the importance of arts practice in everyday life.

Ruth O’Connell, Workshop Coordinator and one of the campus managers, says the Incubator helps to connect people and communities and create a sense of wellbeing.

“From very early on there was always the intention that we would create a campus with multiple workshop spaces offering a wide variety of courses and opportunities to learn. Lots of courses are tutored by past and present resident artists and community collaborators, which provides them with additional income and facilitates community engagement. One of our goals is to enable artists to share their knowledge in bite-sized workshops for the community to experience.”

Adult learning courses provided by the Incubator are diverse and designed to attract and engage with a wide community group.

“Originally our workshops mostly had a visual arts focus, but as we have evolved and grown, we have been able to extend our offerings and we now provide a broader range of courses, including things like cooking and baking, Rongoā balm workshops, rug tufting, and pendant and jewellery making. We try to keep the costs of attending reasonable, while at the same time providing opportunities for artists to build their revenue streams and pass on their skills,” Ruth says.

Courses on offer can be one-on-one learning opportunities or small workshops of up to five people through to larger groups, with courses taking place over two hours or 12 hour/four week more intensive learning. Each month there are between 15 and 20 courses on offer through the Incubator.

The Incubator takes a strong values base to their approach, including:

• Houtupu – we are real. Everything we do is authentic. We are transparent. We live our values.
• Kaha – we are courageous. We are poised for action – ready to seize opportunities as they arise. We celebrate thinking differently. We are flexible, reactive and responsive.
• Whakamana– we are empowering. We treat all our people with warmth, dignity and respect. We foster growth and transformation. We encourage collaboration and generosity.

Ruth says the feedback they receive from adult learners reflects delivery on their values base and reinforces their ethos that grass roots art and community art can be made accessible.

“We give people a taster and we hope they come back for more if they like it. Importantly, the Incubator provides a community space that is intergenerational and is open to the wider community. It helps create connection and friendships and it grows skills as well as enabling connections for our artists.”