The Community Hub itself is designed as a flexible space for community groups and commercial hire.

It can accommodate up to about 100 people for presentations and events, with tables, chairs, audio-visual equipment, a kitchenette and accessible facilities.

It can be used for workshops, classes, performances, meetings, celebrations and other community activities, including bookings outside normal library hours.

Thomas said the artwork adds another dimension to the space.

“It is about visual things that make people smile, make people happy and make people feel welcome,” she said.

“And it’s about celebrating creativity. I think that’s what a library is all about – celebrating creativity.”

Welcome Home Multiflora will be on view when Te Ao Mārama – Tauranga Library and Community Hub opens at He Puna Manawa, 95 Willow Street on Friday, October 16.

The He Puna Manawa Community Celebration Day will be held on Saturday, October 17, from 10am to 4pm.

A giant circle of colourful flowers is set to welcome people from around the world into Tauranga’s new community hub.

Artist Lynette Fisher’s commissioned acrylic painting, Welcome Home Multiflora, has been installed in Waihīrere, the Community Hub within the new Te Ao Mārama – Tauranga Library and Community Hub at He Puna Manawa on Willow Street.

The new library and community hub is due to open on October 16, with a community celebration day planned for Saturday, October 17.

The 1.6-metre-diameter painting features a ring of more than 100 flowers, each representing a different culture or country connected to Tauranga.

Lynette Fisher’s completed work 'Welcome Home Multiflora' is installed in the new community hub. Photo/ Kelly O’Hara

Fisher said the work grew from her existing artistic practice of creating circular “daisy chains” of flowers.

“When this pitch came in, I thought, ‘I know what I’m going to do’,” she said.

She was particularly attracted to the idea of creating a large canvas rather than painting directly onto a wall.

The black background makes the bright colours of the flowers stand out, while the circular shape was deliberately chosen to soften the strong architectural lines of the new building.

“I wanted to soften the space in a friendly way,” Fisher said.

“To me, a circle is more of a friendly shape than a square because it’s soft edges.”

The daisy chain is also significant, with many of the people Fisher spoke to during her research sharing memories of making them.

“Every person that I have talked to has recognised and told me a story about their mother or them learning how to do a daisy chain,” she said.

The flowers were chosen through conversations with people from different cultural backgrounds.

Fisher and library and council staff went to Tauranga’s Multicultural Festival and spoke to more than 100 people about their heritage and which flowers were meaningful to them.

In some cases, people knew immediately what their national or cultural flower was. In others, a quick internet search led to discoveries and family stories.

The finished work includes flowers such as the Scottish thistle, South African protea, Welsh daffodil, Nepalese rhododendron, South Korean Rose of Sharon and a fuchsia associated with West Ireland.

There are also flowers representing Tauranga, including bunny tails and mānuka.

Waihīrere is located within the new Te Ao Mārama – Tauranga Library and Community Hub at He Puna Manawa on Willow Street. Photo / Kelly O'Hara

Tauranga City Council’s libraries and community hubs manager Joanna Thomas said the artwork was commissioned to celebrate the various cultures that have made Tauranga home.

“It’s to make it a really welcoming community space,” she said.

Thomas said the conversations with the community were an important part of developing the artwork.

“There are a large number of flowers in there, and they all represent a different culture,” she said.

Fisher has been working on the painting since May, estimating she has put about 100 hours’ work into it.

It is the largest work she has created in this style on a stretched canvas.

She said the title, Welcome Home Multiflora, reflects exactly what she hopes people will feel when they see it.

“I just want people to feel welcomed when they see it.”

The Community Hub is designed as a flexible space for community groups and commercial hire.

Tauranga City Council's Libraries and Community Hubs Manager Joanna Thomas in the new Waihīrere - the Community Hub within the new Te Ao Mārama – Tauranga Library and Community Hub at He Puna Manawa on Willow Street. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

It can accommodate up to about 100 people for presentations and events, with tables, chairs, audio-visual equipment, a kitchenette and accessible facilities.

It can be used for workshops, classes, performances, meetings, celebrations and other community activities, including bookings outside normal library hours.

Thomas said the artwork adds another dimension to the space.

“It is about visual things that make people smile, make people happy and make people feel welcome,” she said.

“And it’s about celebrating creativity. I think that’s what a library is all about – celebrating creativity.”

Welcome Home Multiflora will be on view when Te Ao Mārama – Tauranga Library and Community Hub opens at He Puna Manawa, 95 Willow Street on Friday, October 16.

The He Puna Manawa Community Celebration Day will be held on Saturday, October 17.

He Puna Manawa Civic Opening: Friday, October 16, 9am-10am. Free to attend, no RSVP required.

He Puna Manawa Community Celebration Day: Saturday, October 17, 10am-4pm, 95 Willow St. Free, with activities and performances for all ages.