Raglan Arts Weekend launches with opening of Preview Exhibition

The Raglan Arts Weekend (Raw) Preview Exhibition will be open on on Thursday.

The much-loved annual Raglan Arts Weekend (Raw) kicks off next week with the exclusive opening of its Preview Exhibition on Thursday, signalling the start of the Raw festivities.

Taking place in the Raglan Old School Arts Centre, the Preview Exhibition will showcase 84 artworks, all of them developed especially for this year’s 13th annual Raw event.

All artworks are for sale, some of them at a very attractive price point, and proceeds go directly to artists and towards the event itself, which is a not-for-profit.

Each of the 42 participating studios on the self-guided art trail has to submit two artworks – a showcase piece at any price point, as well as a 300-by-300-millimetre artwork to be sold for a steal at $200.

“Our 300-by-300′s are extremely popular, and it’s very exciting seeing all the red dots that mark the sales, acknowledging the extent of talent we have in this wee town,” Nicky Brzeska, Raw co-ordinator since 2019, says.

The event has grown from strength to strength, with its own Raw logo and a clear brand, a website, a new Raglan Arts Guide booklet, official Raw flags and over 60 artists now participating in 42 studios.

Artist Annick Faubert.

“We have the same number of studios as last time, but we have some big groups this year, such as The Hatch emerging artists, our Raglan Life DRawing Group and our old favourite - The Raglan Community Clayshed,” Brzeska says.

“This means we’ve been able to grow again and accommodate a lot of new artists, but without it being overwhelming for our visitors, who can expect to navigate around [an art trail of the same size].”

This year, artists span the widest litany of media forms to date, covering painting, illustration, sculpture, glass, ceramics, textiles, graffiti, taxidermy, jewellery, photography, woodwork, weaving, metalwork, prints and more.

Raw’s Preview Exhibition is a free event.

Following the exclusive opening on Thursday evening, it will be open daily to the public from Friday, September 29 until the end of Raw on Monday, October 23, from 10am to 2pm at the Old School Arts Centre, 5 Stewart St.

Artist Hayley Hamilton in action.

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