Christchurch Art Gallery website top of the tops

The new website for the Christchurch Art Gallery is turning heads, taking top honours at the 2016 Museums Australasia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards (MAPDAs).

The annual awards celebrate excellence in the Australasian museums sector and were presented this week during a gala dinner at Auckland's Aotea Centre.

Christchurch Art Gallery took out the best-in-show (Digital category) and excellence (Multimedia category) for its website, which was recently redesigned by Christchurch firm Sons - Co. The Gallery was also highly commended by judges for its magazine, Bulletin.

The latest accolades add to the Gallery's long-running record of success at the MAPDAs. It has won a total of 12 excellence awards since 2004.

Director Jenny Harper says last night's win validates the fresh and innovative approach taken to the website for the Gallery's reopening.

"We're very pleased to see the website recognised," she says.

"It's a very new approach for us, treating the site more like a dynamic online magazine than a standard institutional website.

"More than ever it has become an extension of the Gallery – a place with its own authority, voice and both curatorial and editorial style," says Harper.

"It's been extremely positively received since its reveal around our reopening, and there are more updates to come, so watch this space," she says.