Whangamatā Art Trail 2024: Arts Collective to promote Coromandel creatives

An installation featured at the Whangamatā Arts Collective 2023 Art After Dark event.

Whangamatā Arts Collective’s annual Easter weekend Art Trail will brighten up the Coromandel at the end of this month.

The collective said the trail would bring creatives together and promote local talent.

Whangamatā Arts Collective spokeswoman Clare Mewse said the trail would give artists an opportunity to display and sell their work, attracting many visitors who come to the town “for their last burst of summer fun”.

“It’s a really relaxed trail to meet the artists.”

Mewse said the collective was local group of artists, artisans, musicians, craftspeople, bards, and more, who are focused on bringing creativity to the wider community.

“Our aim is to foster all art mediums and forms and to provide events for artisans to display their work and talent.”

The event, spread across Saturday and Sunday, March 30 and 31, between 10am and 4pm, will see five hubs “jam-packed with a diverse range of mixed media artworks including hand-made jewellery, clay work, visual art, fibre art and harakeke”.

Artists participating in the five hubs are all Coromandel-based artists, many of whom are award-winning, Mewse said.

“Come along to meet the artists in their studios where all work will be available to purchase. The studios are within biking or walking range so an easy Easter weekend workout for those interested in visiting our creative hubs.

“Begin your art trail at the Whangamatā Information Centre [on] Port Rd where maps and further information will be available.”

Bernadette Ross, a local Whangamatā harakeke weaver, will display her intricate work, which has won awards and sold nationally and internationally.

Her studio hub will also have Maree Burt’s portrait work on display and handcrafted jewellery by Louise Penbathy.

At Heather Watt’s hub, there will be mixed media art and garden art, along with pottery and sculptures from Nikky Seales.

At Sue Jamieson’s, there will be a hive of activity with fibre artists, garden art and visual delights.

“This is an annual arts trail event which visitors and locals can freely attend. It’s a showcase of our talented local artists who collaborate together to form the five hubs. It’s a great opportunity to walk or bike around the town and meet the artists in their own studios,” Mewse said.

The Arts Collective will also host five hands-on workshops in April, enabling artists to learn new skills to present and promote their work, to work with other artists in their studios, learning about mixed media, portraiture, pottery and other mediums.

Mewse said she hopes it will encourage new members to join the Arts Collective.

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