Christchurch Art Gallery website scoops major award

Christchurch Art Gallery has picked up another great award for its website, proving yet again that a closed building is not necessarily an insurmountable obstacle.

The Gallery’s site, designed by local firm Sons & Co, was hailed as an ‘innovative and interactive’ website at the Australian Graphic Design Association's (AGDA) Australian Design Biennale awards in Melbourne last week.

Up against 1,800 other entries, the  website, which has already won numerous New Zealand awards including NZ Best Interactive Design and the Museums Aotearoa awards, proved that it could compete with the finest Australia had to offer.

Curatorial, Collections & Programme Manager Blair Jackson says the site has increasingly become a focal point for the Gallery’s activities.

'We're thrilled that our website has won this award. While our building remains closed, the site has become a hugely important part of our presence and our “gallery without walls”.

‘Over the past year or so it has developed into more than just a source of information about our closure, becoming a place with its own authority, its own voice and its own curatorial and editorial style. It has been crucial in drawing attention to our ever expanding Outer Spaces programme.

‘Much of this has been made possible by the fantastic work Sons & Co have done in designing and building the site.’

The winning website, which was launched in 2010 after a total overhaul of the old site, was designed to enhance the visitor experience, increase engagement and to implement e-commerce and content management tools. Within it, My Gallery, a new interactive tool made live in 2011, allows visitors to create their own collections, share them and discourse with others about them.

For more information visit www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz.