On Christmas Eve, Waipukurau’s Electra Gallery will close its doors for the last time.
The gallery was opened in 1998, managed and staffed by a group of volunteers, and was a place for local artists to show and buyers to purchase quality artworks, which over the years have ranged from paintings and ceramics to hand-crafted jewellery.
Periodically, the gallery showed new mini-exhibitions of original paintings featuring different styles and mediums, with most works sourced from Hawke’s Bay artists.
A special general meeting was held recently to discuss the future of Electra Gallery (Inc). The contributions made by Kevin Annand and Caroline Innes to get it started were acknowledged as was the contribution of all the volunteers, some of whom have been involved throughout the gallery’s 25 years.
Originally Central Lines was the naming sponsor. “The Festival” and “Art Extravaganza” were held at Pukeora Estate, which for 16 years was a major source of funding. Since the events stopped operating invested funds have gradually been depleted to a point where it is no longer possible for Electra Gallery to continue trading.
