NorthTec well represented in historic Parliament exhibition

NorthTec well represented in historic exhibition at Parliament

Following its widely acclaimed showing at the Whangarei Art Museum, the artpractice exhibition, highlighting local ‘wonders’ of Whangarei and its surrounds, has started at Parliament’s Art Gallery based in Bowen House.

The tribute exhibition, marking 15 years of exhibitions at the Whangarei Art Museum (WAM), features artists Charlotte Fisher, Star Gossage, Grant Beran, Colleen Ryan-Priest and Gillian Whitehead, as well as four artists that have, or have had strong affiliations with NorthTec over the years.

They are Shona Firman, a former arts student from the 1990s, painter Lawrence Berry, who tutored in the Arts Department, Greg Barron, a potter who sits on NorthTec’s Arts Local Advisory Committee and current Programme Leader for Visual Arts/Maori Arts at NorthTec, Kura Te Waru-Rewiri.

Shona shows a new series of work that keeps alive the old freezing works at Reotahi which operated from 1911 to 1921. Lawrence has a strong individualistic presence in the exhibition having a close association with the Whangarei Harbour and its environment, Kura’s work is said to “add strength to the Maori voice” for the show along with Star Gossage, and Greg, through his pottery at Glenbervie, has produced elegant forms inspired by several influences covering a period from the early seventies to recent work in stoneware and porcelain.

The exhibition of Whangarei connected contemporary artists is the first in Parliamentary history to showcase a specific location (Whangarei) through different creative disciplines.

The artpractice exhibition at Bowen House will run for another six weeks or so, and during that time, all the works of the artists will also be dispersed and displayed throughout parts of the interconnecting spaces of the Beehive, Parliament House, and the Parliamentary library.

Curated by Scott Pothan of WAM, the exhibition is designed to put the spotlight on the artists who were hand-selected for the exhibition and who have, or have had, very close personal connections to Whangarei.

The exhibition in Wellington resulted from discussions between Mr Pothan and Prime Minister John Key when he visited the Art Museum for a private function during last year’s election campaign.

ENDS

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