Kate Symmans at Gordon Harris Hamilton. Photo/Supplied
Kate Symmans at Gordon Harris Hamilton. Photo/Supplied
Kate Symmans is an artist based in Kihikihi and she has recently started a 12-month creative critique programme, The Artistry Huddle.
It is a base for artists to gather on the third Saturday of each month at the Te Awamutu Library from 12-4pm.
This huddle was funded by Waipā District Council's Creative Community Funding and was one of the successful applicants for the previous round of funding.
Applications to join this huddle closed in mid-June. But there is still hope for artists for more huddles popping up in the coming year.
Kate says the plan is to start the huddle in the Waipā and carry it on here while introducing programmes elsewhere.
She got the inspiration to trial her idea in Te Awamutu because she "wanted to bring a space for creatives to meet within the Waipā".
She says in other areas like Hamilton there are already established places that people can access for support in the arts, whereas in Te Awamutu there is a real need for that space to be filled for all the creative people that reside within the region.
"When I left Wintec, what I really needed was something that could keep me on track and motivate me to keep producing works with a connection to the artistic community.
"I found I struggled, and I wasn't liking the work I was producing. I found this was due to me not receiving any constructive feedback, like there was in tertiary education, from tutors and peers," says Kate.
She finds it bizarre that art was the only industry where when you graduate you are on your own and found she lost a huge part of the creative process.
Kate says their kaupapa supports any practitioner in any field, at any stage in their career.
"It's important to me that this is not just for people who have qualified with an arts degree, and that it's not just one style of art. So really anyone can apply for the huddle."
This year they have a range of artists, from painters, printmakers, life-drawers, a ceramist, fabric artists and an illustrator.
Deep in discussion about work at the last huddle held at the Te Awamutu Library. Photo/Supplied
"The space we have at the Te Awamutu Library can accommodate digital art, so we can have a range of forms, like filmmakers and photographers. Just as long as we can accommodate them monthly."
Kate says the huddle is popular and the programme is full.
"We had 40 inquiries from all around the North Island and over 20 applications. Which is a good response for our first year," says Kate.
Kate is an artist and art educator with a bachelor's degree, with honours in media arts painting and sculpture from Wintec School of Media Arts in 2013. She currently works as an education account and branch manager for Gordon Harris Art Supplies, in Hamilton's CBD.
She also tutors art at the Waikato Museum through the Waikato Society of Arts and hosts workshops and teaches art in the evenings.
"I guess you could say I really love art," Kate jokes.
The creative community scheme has really helped get this project off the ground. Through the Waipā funding, compared to other funding options, Kate was able to apply and was successful in receiving more funding for her programme.
"If I didn't have the support of the creative community's funding, I wouldn't be able to do this at the calibre it is now. So, without the support, it would not be possible.
"It is not just about the 10 people who are successful in getting into the programme, it's about those people taking the knowledge further and taking the skills they learn back into their community.
"It's more than a critique once a month, it's the opportunity to gather skills to share with each other," Says Kate.
In the future, an online programme may be in the works in the coming year in Waipā for artists who live rurally.
