Covid 19 causes reshuffle at the Sarjeant Gallery, Arts Review rescheduled

Andrea Gardner in her Whanganui studio. Photo / Supplied

The Pattillo Whanganui Arts Review will be pushed back to November in 2022 as the Sarjeant Gallery's reshuffles its schedule because of Covid-19.

Curator and public programmes manager Greg Donson said Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions forced exhibitions to be rescheduled several times.

"It is like fitting together a huge game of Tetris, making sure there are exhibitions in the right place at the right time and that artists and their artworks can get to Whanganui," he said.

The current exhibition of new works by the 2019 Tylee Cottage resident Jae Hoon Lee (Bridge of Now and Here), and the touring exhibition He Tangata: The People by Star
Gossage were originally scheduled for exhibition months ago, but Gossage's show was locked down at the Pah Homestead in Auckland and Lee was unable to travel from Auckland for the installation of his show.

Both exhibitions are now on show at Sarjeant on the Quay until late January.

As a result of the changes, next year's Pattillo Whanganui Arts Review will open on November 12 and close in February - eight months later than its usual opening date.

"We thought we might have to miss a year of the Arts Review but people love it, and we love it," Donson said.

The winner of the 2021 Arts Review, Andrea Gardner is currently working on her Pattillo Project exhibition, which opens in February.

"I tend to make a lot of artwork so it can be challenging to narrow it all down and choose which works to exhibit," Gardner said.

"Greg Donson has been hugely helpful in the process of selecting works."

In terms of what might feature in the exhibition, Gardner said she was continuing her exploration of staged photography using intense colour and the female form in
various imaginative scenarios.

Early next year the Sarjeant will hold a survey show of past Whanganui Arts Review winners.

Assistant curator Jessica Kidd said the show would feature works from Open, Excellence and Highly Commended award-winning artists from the past 10 years.

"The gallery anticipates that the show will highlight the current practice of around 30 Whanganui-based artists and will include works in a range of media.

"This will be a fantastic opportunity to experience the strength and depth of
Whanganui's artistic output."