Gallery News
Akaroa Gallery 2019/2020 season - a note from the president…
It has been a disjointed but on the whole successful season!
Starting in October/November 2019 with a truly one-off exhibition: “The Kelliher Paintings - a unique collection of New Zealand landscapes.” We were privileged to have been chosen to show sixteen iconic works - a first ever for our gallery & only the second time in 63 years that a selection of the Kelliher collection has been seen in the South Island.
The artists: Rita Angus, Douglas Badcock, Peter McIntyre, David Barker, Cedric Savage, Austen Deans, Rodger Harrison, Peter Mardon, Colin Wheeler, Toss Woolaston, Brian Halliday, Robert McDowell, Michael Smither, Richard McWhannell, Stanley Palmer & Dick Frizzell. All prominent in NZ’s art history.
Several Kelliher Art Trust board members from Auckland including the chairman attended the opening night. This exhibition ran for three weeks - proving very popular & raising some $14,000. When the Covid-19 situation allows this will go towards setting up an attractive & useful outdoor area at the Akaroa Health Centre residential wing. Our thanks to the Kelliher Art Trust for the generosity & confidence in us.
After “The Kelliher’ came our annual “Cash & Carry” exhibition. Works from some thirty mainly local artists & craftspeople were on display. Always a popular event on our calendar, this year’s C&C was no exception & sales were good.
Then we held two joint exhibitions - Christine King with Michael Holland plus Dael Foy with Sarah Harper. Four talented artists & a pleasure to have them with us.
To complete the season we’d invited three well known NZ bird painters & photographers from Wellington (plus one from Marlborough) to exhibit with us. This took a year to put together, the artwork was in the Gallery awaiting hanging & the unthinkable happened!
We decided to run an online exhibition - helped by a local IT expert. Our first ever - it attracted much attention & seven sales. At the conclusion of this (as we still had the artwork in the Gallery) we decided to have a weekend "Tabletop Exhibition" - another first! People had said they’d love to see the work in the flesh/feathers. Complying with all Corvid-19 guidelines of course. Nine additional pieces were sold at this. Overall a great result considering the odds against it!
As a community-based art gallery our profits all go back into the community.
Friends of the Gallery membership is $30 per couple annually ($20 for an individual). Members get invitations to all exhibition opening functions, a chance to meet the artists & to view the art before anyone else. We also run forums for our members through the winter. Covid-19 has interrupted the 2020 programme somewhat but we hope to resume forums at Level 1. To become a member contact our secretary Jan Collins: 022 318 6953 or email her at janandclyde@xtra.co.nz
A big thank you to all the artists involved this year, the Gallery committee, our loyal Gems (Great Exhibition Minders) & the many people who otherwise supported us.
We are now finalising our 2020/2021 exhibition programme - hoping this will go more smoothly this time! Watch this space for more information - in due course.
Bryan Tichborne