At the same time as the old Bath House is being strengthened and redeveloped, Rotorua Museum is working on the very complex and time consuming task of developing the new exhibitions to be staged inside the building. The Friends of Rotorua Museum are ready to help in any way they can and current activities are focused on sourcing funds for the Exhibition Development and Installation project. The Friends are delighted to receive any donations you would like to make to help with this cause.

NZ donations to the Friends are eligible for tax credit claims of 1/3rd of the value of the donation and can be made direct to The Friends bank account or through this site.

If you would like to discuss making a donation please contact the Friends through email The Friends.

Inland Revenue Department advises you can only claim donation receipts that add up to your total taxable income for a tax year. If your total donations were more than your total taxable income in a year, you can split your donations and allow your partner to claim the rest (up to their taxable income).

Background information on exhibition development from Rotorua Museum Website:

Exhibition Development Timeline
Developing exhibitions to Museum standard is complex and time consuming. It requires detailed research for the many hundreds of objects, artworks, taonga and photographs selected to go on display. Conservation work needs to be undertaken, permissions sought, object mounts made, stories and labels written, lighting designed, audiovisuals and interactives developed, cases constructed, and much more.

This exhibition work is all happening in parallel to the strengthening and redevelopment of the building itself.

Exhibition timeline and status:
Masterplanning (Jan – Jun 2023) – Complete
Concept design (Jul 23 – Sep 24) – Complete
Developed design (10 months) – Restarted July 2025
Detailed design (5 months) – Not started
Production (12 months) – Not started
Installation and commissioning (7 months) – Not started

Exhibition Funding Continues
The exhibition development project is back on track whilst the team continue to raise funds to complete the project. Overall, $10.5m in funding is required to deliver the completed exhibition project. New stages will not commence until funding for that phase has been sourced.

A major fundraising drive is currently underway.

Activities of the Friends

The Friends of Rotorua Museum of Art & History is a registered Charity set up to:

Promote awareness and enjoyment of Rotorua Museum collections and events as an essential part of our community, and
Encourage the people of Rotorua to appreciate the arts, crafts and history of the district.

Over the years the Friends of Rotorua Museum have acquired a rich collection of contemporary New Zealand art, which is cared for by Rotorua Museum and available for use in exhibitions.

The Friends co-host the Rotorua Museum Art Awards – a biennial exhibition which promotes local artists’ work and encourages emerging and innovative artists and also the Bay Of Plenty Artists Exhibition.

The Friends hold a range of events throughout the year including talks, exhibitions, visits to private collections, art excursions and more recently toi – Rotorua Arts Festival which includes art trails, open studios workshops, talks and performance.

They also support the Museum with practical projects. These have included cleaning the Summers’ Sculptures, sewing covers to protect the textile collection and rationalisation and referencing the archives. Other projects include obtaining funding to acquire new works for the collection and maintaining the collection.