The Learning Connexion

12/10/2026

Step inside our studios this weekend 🎨

TLC is part of the Lower Hutt Art Trail (Stop 12), and our doors are wide open. Wander the campus, meet our ākonga, and watch them at work across Painting, Printmaking, Dry Media, Ceramics, Jewellery, Mixed Media and Digital Art!

Many of our student artists will have original work for sale, so you can take home something unique while supporting emerging artists.

Established artists will also be giving artist talks throughout the weekend!

Whether you’re a collector, a curious future student, or just keen for a good nosy around, we’d love to see you.

📍 182 Eastern Hutt Road, Taita, Lower Hutt
📅 Saturday & Sunday, 17 & 18 October
🕙 10am to 4pm
🚗 Free parking on-site, and we’re dog-friendly 🐾

Find out more at

12/10/2026

A very special day in the TLC calendar - our biannual bronze pour! As the only art school in the country to offer bronze pouring, watching Leo and Simon in action is one for the books.
To sign up for our classes, head to www.tlc.ac.nz

10/10/2026

06/10/2026

Today we welcomed Fauono Ken Laban Mayor of Lower Hutt to The Learning Connexion, along with Naomi Shaw MNZM Hutt City Council Northern Ward Councillor and Cr Andy Mitchell - Hutt City Council.

It was great to have them here and share a little about TLC, our students and the work we do in the community.

Before Council considers the options for the Long Term Plan 2027-2037, they want to better understand what our communities and neighbourhoods value most, and why.

Please help by taking a few minutes to complete the survey and share what matters to you. Your feedback will help inform Council’s planning for the future of Lower Hutt.
https://haveyoursay.huttcity.govt.nz/long-term-plan-2027-2037

05/10/2026

Such a joy to have the fabulous team from RadioActive at our campus. Let us know if you hear them shouting us out during your day!!

05/10/2026

Thank you Lottie so much for having our wonderful Short Course Coordinator Jordan!!

28/09/2026

Just look at the things you can do with some recycled materials!! Our Kids Holiday Programme is LIVE!
Only a few spots left for “Planes Trains and Automobiles” on Friday 9 October!
Book at https://www.tlc.ac.nz/kids-art/kids-holiday-art/

artists

27/09/2026

Our very own Jordan Harcout-Hughes will be speaking about our Short Course Programme tonight!! Thanks so much for having us!!

20/09/2026

It’s been a big week in the jewellery studio for the end of term 3, and next term, it could be you here as well!!
Applications for scholarships and term 4 enrollments are still open! To apply go to www.tlc.ac.nz

19/09/2026

The late Peter Coolbear always joked that he would go art school by the time he was 40. And at 66, the life long academic enrolled into the Level 4 Distance Programme at TLC. Peter had always been drawn to painting and drawing, and was also an avid photographer. He had a backlog of photos that he wished to paint someday. In 2018 when he first enrolled, Peter decided that “someday was today”. On what would’ve been the week of his birthday in mid September, his wife and daughter brought many of his works to Thistle Hall on Cuba Street as a celebration of his creations. Often shy and critical of his work, his daughter says that all the paintings in the gallery have been mostly sitting the in the garage since they were completed. “He was an academic through and through. Everything was so precise. Every detail painstaking, and none of them up to his standard of perfectionism”. Yet looking at the canvases lining the walls, it’s clear that Peter’s sense of perfection came from an immense level of care and love for the subject - all his paintings have an emotional connection. His ability to convey light, and his affinity for colour shines through the paintings. Combining his love for creation and his life’s work of being a biochemist, Peter was drawn to painting flowers. In the gallery is a portfolio on his scientific-like research on the different structures and representation of flowers, particularly in different cultures. Peter said that working as a part time distance student gave him the flexibility to continue his consulting work in Fiji, but also the discipline and motivation to work on his practice. Having TLC as somewhere he could always return to was something he was very grateful for. In a 2023 interview with TLC, Peter stated that he believes education is about fostering skills and confidence to explore and understand ourselves and the world around us. His experience at TLC was one of exploring a long-held ambition of his. It was exciting, fulfilling, and challenging - everything he believed education should be about.
Peter’s wife and daughter are currently in the process of creating a website for Peter’s work
You can find more info about study at tlc.ac.nz