Creative Spaces Network
Work by Artists in the Making and Te Mana Tangata featured in the Creative Spaces Exhibition 2024, celebrating three years of creativity and social connectivity at Hauraki House Coromandel in November.
More than 80 family and friends of the artists attended the morning tea opening, which included a speech by Creative Coromandel Chairperson Fiona Cameron. One of the works featured a display of the tukutuku panel, created by Moana Harrison and Te Mana Tangata, and subsequently used by Arts Access Aotearoa to form the branding for the Creative Spaces Network and Ngā Wāhi Auaha Creative Spaces Conference 2024.
The exhibiting artists were proud to see their work on display. "I am a real artist now", “Art is good” and "These workshops are the best thing that has happened for me", they said.
Lizzy Leckie, Senior Support Worker at Artists in the Making, says the show looked very professional, with a huge range of work: mosaics, screenprints, pottery, sewing, painting, jewellery and more.
“The energy in the room was one of colour, vibrancy and fun,” she says.
A number of works sold during the exhibition. However, many of the artists wanted to keep their works as they said held great memories of the good times at the workshops.
“This exhibition showcased what can be achieved when there is adequate funding,” Lizzy says. “For many of the artists these workshops have provided a first encounter with making art and now they are hooked. These creative spaces have been a safe haven for many to connect with others as well as to connect with their own creativity.”
The exhibition started with a welcoming karakia and waiata and a tribute to the gallery space Hauraki House, home of the original Coromandel School and an early kohanga reo.
“We also ran creative workshops in the gallery for all the community while the show was on,” Lizzy says. “It was a great success and a perfect celebration of all the wonderful workshops we held over the past three years.”
The Coromandel Independent Living Trust/Artists in the Making was one of 54 creative spaces to receive three-year funding from Manatu Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. That funding finishes on 31 December 2024.
