On October 2, the Raglan Arts Weekend will kick off at the opening of the Preview Exhibition – the biggest yet to date – at the Raglan Arts Centre.
96 artworks from the representative 48 studios will be on display and for sale, giving visitors a sneak peek into what’s in store for the self-guided art trail in October.
Each of the 48 participating studios on the trail has to submit two artworks – a showcase piece at any price point, as well as a donated 300mm x 300mm artwork to be sold for a steal at $200.
“16 years of RAW in – and our 300×300 exhibition is still the most popular part of our event!” says Nicky Brzeska, RAW’s Co-Ordinator. “It’s fascinating to see what each artist creates in a restricted square format, and our locals love it that they can buy a desired artwork at a fraction of its value. Not only is it getting local artworks into more homes around Raglan, it’s also raising much needed funds to run the event.”
RAW is a not-for-profit event by the Raglan Arts Centre and all money raised from the 300×300 sale goes straight back into the event. The team has had a tough time this year raising funds with four grants declined, signalling the lack of sufficient funds in the arts for an increasing number of applications. So far the opening launch event at Iso has been cancelled, along with a planned Children’s Exhibition. Improvements to social media, the event’s photography, web site improvements and digital marketing have all been sadly shelved due to a lack of funds.
One organization who has stood by RAW since 2020 is the prestigious Chartwell Trust, whose partnership enables the Preview Exhibition, amongst other initiatives, to run every year. The Chartwell Trust was set up in 1970 to promote creative visual thinking and support contemporary art and the Chartwell Collection houses more than 2000 contemporary artworks from New Zealand, Australia and other countries at the Auckland Art Gallery, Toi o Tāmaki.
“It’s an honour to have their partnership and support and we are working together on bringing some great installations to RAW when we can raise sufficient funds to expand the event again,” says Nicky.
The organisers hope that the buzz from the Preview Exhibition will set the scene for RAW this year, which is becoming more engaging for its visitors with installations, demos, workshops and a partnership with the Raglan Country and Blues Music Festival. “We are moving in the right direction and we have so many ideas and opportunities,” says Nicky. “However, we need to ensure that with these limited funds, our core event – the self-guided trail – remains at the front and centre of RAW.”
RAW’s Preview Exhibition is a free event. Following an exclusive opening for artists and friends on Thursday evening, it will be open to the public from Friday 2nd October until the end of RAW, Monday 26th October from 10am until 2pm. Over the RAW weekend, the exhibition will remain open until 5pm, along with other studios.
RAW is over Labour Weekend, 24th to 26th October, and artist studios will be open 10am until 5pm over the three days.
RAW would like to thank its partners Rangitahi, Bayleys Real Estate in Raglan, the Chartwell Trust, Tony Sly, and the Raglan Country and Blues Festival. It also wants to thank the Waikato District Creative Communities for its grant as well as business advertisers who make the brochure and this event possible: Artists at Work Gallery, Sarah Bing, Palm Prints, Freedom2Fly, Helen Parsons Picture Framing and Art, Raglan Holiday Park, Groundswell, Simon Dickey, The Food Obsession, Jet.
Sign up to the RAW newsletter for news: www.raglanartsweekend.nz/contact
