Pride Art Exhibition on this week

Melanie Fleet, Pride Art Exhibition curator, with some of the artworks on display. Photo / Paul Brooks

This is the fourth year that Pride Week has been held in Whanganui.

All this week, in the centre of town in the old Post Office in Ridgway St – home of Community House – Pride Whanganui is holding an art exhibition on the ground floor, in the foyer.

It's also the site of Pride Hub, the place for all information, merchandise, friendship and a chat.

"The art exhibition is in its third year and it's growing," says Christina Emery, the driving force behind Pride Whanganui. "I can see this becoming a New Zealand thing, a Pride art exhibition.

"This year we have, still a majority of Whanganui artists, but we have some from outside Whanganui too."

Fifteen artists are represented in the exhibition. The work covers a variety of media but the majority are paint on canvas.

"The beautiful thing is I have no idea if these artists are in the Rainbow community or just supporters of the Rainbow community, and it doesn't matter, because the theme is Pride, and what it means to you."

Christina says the theme has been the same for the past three years. "What's incredible are the different interpretations."

She sees the same artist entering the exhibition since the first year and notices that each work is entirely different each time, but still following the theme. She says it reflects where the artist is in life as well.

"It's cool to see how that is developing, and also to see a couple of artists coming back who would not say that they are artists, themselves. They just put in pieces to express themselves …" And yet, she says, they are beautiful works of art.

All of the artworks are for sale, with 20 per cent of the sale price going to Pride Whanganui and the balance to the artist.

"That's to keep funding what we do in the community, whether it's printing resources, framing, getting flags put up flagpoles, paying rent in Community House, it all goes back into the pot to help us.

"Last year we sold three-quarters of the artworks. I put them up on Facebook as well as our website, so people not in our region can have a look. Last year, for the first time, we had artists outside the region, so if their family couldn't make it to the exhibition, they could still have a look online."

Christina says that even now, with Covid causing complications, local people can still see the exhibition from the safety of their home.

"They can still be a part of it and they can still buy it online."

The exhibition is open from 10am until 4pm each day and closes this Saturday afternoon.
"People can come in, check out the artwork, and we'll also have a resource hub. I will be there the whole time. People can come in for a chat, but some merch, if they want, or just sit down and do what they want to do in a safe space."