Kohukohu 3-year-old Coed Evans and mum Claire Deighton study an artwork at the opening of Village Arts' 10th anniversary exhibition in Kohukohu.
Kohukohu 3-year-old Coed Evans and mum Claire Deighton study an artwork at the opening of Village Arts' 10th anniversary exhibition in Kohukohu.
From craft shop with a ceiling sagging with possum poo to one of Northland's top white-wall galleries
A North Hokianga art gallery has celebrated its ten-year transformation from a craft gallery in a dilapidated shop riddled with possum poo to one of Northland's top white-wall galleries.
Village Arts in Kohukohu celebrated its 10th birthday on Saturday with a new exhibition, a fresh start, bubbles and birthday cake.
Earlier this year the volunteer-run gallery's future looked uncertain after three long-serving trustees retired, leaving just two to keep the doors open.
Image 1 of 18: Village Arts gallery celebrated its 10th anniversary on Saturday.
However, trustee John Wigglesworth - who heads Hokianga Health in his day job - said the gallery was rejuvenated and ready for a fresh start after a month's closure in which the walls were repainted, storage areas rebuilt and a new trustee found.
The gallery started in 2005 in a historic but run-down building which had been the town's general store.
At one stage it was due to be demolished to make way for a two-storey, tilt-slab mock castle. There was also talk of bowling it for a car park.
The building was rescued by Mr Wigglesworth and his partner, photographer Marg Morrow, who bought it and set about re-modelling the gallery along the lines of The Depot, a community art space in Devonport.
Outgoing trustee Phil Evans paid tribute to the vision of Village Arts' founders Wally Hicks, Lindsay Antrobus Evans, Alistair Lambie, Louisa Geddes and Louise Evans.
"They all put in $10 each in, and ten years later this is the result. From a building with a sagging, possum-poo-filled ceiling to what we've got now, it's been an amazing, amazing journey," he said.
For the 10th anniversary exhibition, 29 mostly Hokianga artists were given a small wooden box and invited to transform it in any way they pleased.
Some are purely decorative while others tackle thorny issues such as Middle East wars and the demise of the peace movement, dementia and the flag debate.
There is humour too. With no space to store the boxes the exhibits were delivered in, they were instead stacked up and turned into a mock art installation with an outrageous price tag and an artist's statement obtained from an online generator of art gobbledygook. The show is open daily until November 5.
Retiring trustees Phil Evans, Wally Hicks and Lindsay Antrobus Evans plan to concentrate on their own art and other projects.
The remaining pair, John Wigglesworth and Marg Morrow, have been joined by Linda Montgomery, who has a background in fine arts and accounting.
While cheered by the Hokianga's thriving arts scene, Mr Wigglesworth lamented the recent closure of NorthTec's applied art courses, saying the organisation's exit from art training in Rawene was frustrating and disappointing.
