Annual Art Exhibition Saving School Students’ Art From The Skip

Incredible artwork is created at a secondary school level and, more often than not, these student art folios, filled with fabulous works, end up either in a deep, dark corner of their parents' garage or in the school skip.

Artstart, will be bringing their art exhibition to Te Whanganui-a-Tara for the first time.

VENUE: 154 Featherston Street, Wellington CBD

OPENING NIGHT: Friday 23 June, 6pm – 9pm. Tickets $35 via www.artstart.co.nz

EXHIBITION: 24 June - 7 July, Open daily 10am - 6pm

Visitation numbers are expected to reach 15,000 over the 2 week exhibition.

The Artstart Foundation which launched in 2018 as The Creators' Room, offers a youth development programme available to young creatives aged 15-18 years to showcase their work and connect with Aotearoa’s community of collectors. The programme currently receives over 2,000 submissions per year from young creatives. Artstart provides upfront financial support, through the purchase and professional framing of the original artworks and funding the reproduction of limited edition prints. The artworks are then made available to the collectors through an online marketplace and annual exhibition, with all profits going directly to the artists.

Artstart is on a mission to give Pōneke’s rangatahi the first taste of a career as an artist and encourage continued participation in and appreciation of the arts once they leave the support of the school environment. “Secondary School art students face a number of roadblocks when taking the first daunting leap to publicly showcase their artwork. They lack resources and funding to create and present their work on a professional level, and have limited ways of marketing themselves and connecting with the wider arts community.” says Charlotte Sherratt, Artstart Co-Founder.

Since its inception in 2018, Artstart has provided upwards of $330,000 in financial support to young artists in Canterbury alone. “As part of our mission to encourage continued participation in the arts, we award an annual scholarship of $5,000 to one deserving Artist, to help support the growth and development of their artistic career.” says Sophie Paterson, Artstart Co-Founder.

The scholarship is awarded by an independent judging panel consisting of practising artists and art experts. The winner will be announced on the opening night, Friday 23 June. The judging panel includes:

Ana Sciascia: Director of Pātaka Art + Museum

Chelsea Nicholls: Senior Curator The Dowse Art Museum and Petone Settlers Museum

Mica Still: Practising Wellington artist

Luce Tyndall: Practising Wellington artist

This is the first year that the programme has expanded to include Pōneke, the opportunity will be made available to all Secondary Schools throughout Aotearoa in the coming years.

Original work will be up for sale during the 14-day exhibition with prices ranging from $200 - $800. Ten guest artists from around Pōneke will also exhibit alongside the students.

This project is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.

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