The gallery’s official opening on 10 May was a success, with thousands of people paying a first visit to the building and galleries. Bronwyn Simes, the Finance and Building Services Manager, says gallery staff are thrilled with the interest in the new building on the corner of Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street.

“The weekends are really busy at the moment and fabulous you want a fun leisure experience, checking out the building for the first time and want to be part of the buzz,” she says.

“But my advice to people who want to come in and really spend some time with the artwork is to take advantage of our Wednesday late nights. We’re open until 9pm and there are lectures and events each Wednesday to enhance the visit.

“You can come after work, park your car, have a glass of wine, pick up an audio guide and have a really great experience.”

The gallery will try the late Wednesday openings for a year to see if there’s demand. Ms Simes says she got two crowd estimates for opening weekend. The advice was that between 8000 and 10,000 people visited on the Saturday, and between 6000 and 8000 on the Sunday. "The following weekend was almost as busy," she says.

"We're just delighted to see the new audience, with so many kids and wheelchairs and prams making use of the building's accessibility. We're all hoping they'll come again and again."

Automatic crowd counters are to be installed. Manual counts will also be made for a while to check that the electronic system's totals can be relied on and numbers are auditable, she says.

• Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetu is open seven days from 10am to 5pm and on Wednesdays until 9pm. The underground public car park entrance is on Gloucester Street.

• The Montana-sponsored Wednesday Evening public programmes start at 6pm, providing an opportunity to take part in a stimulating range of lectures, floor talks, artists' talks, films, dance and performances. Information about what's on offer is on the Gallery website, at www.christchurchart gallery.org.nz/Programmes/