Whirinaki Whare Taonga (Expressions Whirinaki Arts & Entertainment Centre)

About this place

Whirinaki Whare Taonga is an arts, culture and events centre at 836 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt, in the Wellington region. Formerly known as Expressions Arts and Entertainment Centre, it combines public galleries with a theatre, a large hall and meeting spaces, and hires those spaces out for conferences, performances, functions and community events.

### History

The centre traces its origins to February 1993, when the Upper Hutt Valley Community Arts Council put a proposal for a local arts theatre and gallery to Upper Hutt City Council. The Council allocated funding and established the Upper Hutt Community Arts Centre Trust in February 1994. The building opened in September 2003 as Expressions Arts and Entertainment Centre, and was renamed Whirinaki Whare Taonga in 2021. In te reo Māori, whirinaki means to lean on, rely on or provide support, and whare taonga means "house of treasure". The centre reports an average of around 150,000 visitors a year.

### Spaces and capacity

The Professionals Recreation Hall is the largest space, with a 990 square metre sprung matai floor. It holds up to 600 seated or up to 800 standing, and has easy load-in access — practical for exhibitions, trade shows and large dinners.

Gillies Group Theatre is an intimate auditorium seating up to 210, fitted with current audio, visual and theatre lighting technology and supported by in-house technicians. It is used for performances, concerts, seminars, conference plenaries and product launches.

Rotary Foyer accommodates around 150 seated, 100 at tables, or 200 standing, and works as a registration, catering or reception space.

The Green Room seats 20–30 around a boardroom table, with views towards the Upper Hutt hills.

Creative Classroom is available as a breakout or support space adjacent to the hall.

The centre also holds a changing programme of exhibitions across its public galleries, which can form part of a delegate experience.

### Catering and facilities

The Recreation Hall is supported by a servery and bar, and a fully equipped commercial kitchen can be booked alongside it.

### Suitability for MICE

With a theatre for plenary sessions, a large flat-floor hall for exhibitions or banquets, a foyer for registration and catering, and both a boardroom and a classroom for breakouts, Whirinaki Whare Taonga can run a full conference programme in one building. It suits conferences, AGMs, seminars, awards evenings, trade displays and staff functions for organisations based in or visiting the Hutt Valley.