A Maori name has been officially bestowed on a recently constructed piece of cultural infrastructure in the New Zealand city of Christchurch: now to be know as 'Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu'. Translated as ‘the wellspring of star-reflecting waters’, the Maori name has origins in ‘Waipuna’, a reference to the springs near the gallery site, and ‘Waiwhetu’ (‘water in which stars are reflected’), one of the tributaries in the immediate vicinity, which flows into the nearby Avon River. Gallery Kaitiaki Maori (Honorary Curator of Maori Art) Jonathan Mane-Wheoki consulted extensively with iwi representatives, who considered a number of names suggested by the local area before settling on the chosen title. The name was officially gifted earlier this year by the Ngai Tahu people, who hold customary mana over the gallery site and local area. Mane-Wheoki says the naming process reflects the long involvement of local iwi in the development of the new gallery, including a site dedication in 1996 and a subsequent site-blessing ceremony. ‘It is important that mana whenua are consulted in this kind of project and provided with the opportunity to engage with institutions like the new gallery,’ he commented. Gallery Director Tony Preston says the organisation is delighted with the new name: ‘We warmly welcome a Maori name whose origins and meaning are as apposite as they are poetic, and which is further testament to our ongoing and close collaboration with local iwi,’ he says. One of the first exhibitions to be held by the new gallery will feature contemporary artists of Ngai Tahu descent.