Symposium to Encourage Visual Artists

Media Release

Symposium to Encourage Visual Artists

A career connection and a shared love of the arts have triggered the upcoming Hawke’s Bay-based symposium of workshops for artists wanting to grow their creative practices.

The Winter Art Symposium, to be held over the weekend July 12-14, is the brainchild of Maree Mills, director of the Hastings City Art Gallery, and Dr Suzette Major, head of EIT’s ideaschool.

The pair were lecturers in the Department of Screen and Media Studies at Waikato University before moving to Hawke’s Bay to take up their respective positions – Suzette three years ago, and Maree several years before that.

As Suzette says, “neither of us is a Hawke’s Bay gal,” but both women are passionate about the local art scene and are well recognised for their energetic efforts in promoting creative practitioners.

Reflecting the collaborative nature of the venture, the symposium will be split between two venues – on Saturday it will be held at ideaschool on EIT’s Hawke’s Bay campus and on Sunday at the Hastings City Art Gallery.

“EIT’s ideaschool is fortunate to have a local public gallery so supportive of what we do,” Suzette says of the Hastings City Art Gallery. “There has been an ongoing collaboration involving our two staffs and EIT students and graduates, and that has developed further with Maree in the role.

“The Hastings City Art Gallery provides ideaschool with opportunities that simply would not otherwise exist, and we are incredibly grateful to them for that.”

Suzette says the gallery and ideaschool both recognise the need for artists to build successful creative practices.

“To do that, they need not just artistic talent but a whole range of skills. And that’s really what this symposium is about – it will provide direction on pricing work, marketing art, seeking funding, approaching dealer galleries, gaining entry to public art exhibitions, running a home studio, managing money and building an online profile.”

Two days of “hands on” workshops will be framed by a panel discussion entitled Survival in the Provinces as well as the keynote speeches. Christchurch City Gallery deputy director Blair Jackson’s talk Survivor Stories will focus on how post-earthquake Christchurch has turned to the arts as a way of rebuilding the city. Curator for this year’s Auckland Arts Festival, Marcus Williams will discuss Art in the Everyday.

Places for the symposium will be limited. The prices have been set to make the event accessible to visual artists - $90 for those who register before 30 June and $110 for subsequent registrations.

ENDS

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