Media Release
2 June 2009

Masterton the “preview town” for affordable art

Masterton has become the preview town for the New Zealand Affordable Art Show and, for the second year running, will hold a “taste” of the show’s artworks at Solway Park.

More than 100 artworks will be shown at the “Taste of Affordable Art at Solway Park” which will be open to the public in the Copthorne Hotel and Resort on Sunday June 14. An invitation-only reception will be held on Saturday evening (June 13).

“Thanks to our major supporter Trust House, we are delighted to bring the preview to Masterton ahead of the sixth annual Wellington event that will be held at the end of July,” said New Zealand Affordable Art Trust chief executive Carla Russell.

“We look forward to meeting Wairarapa locals and offering them the first chance of viewing and buying this year’s affordable yet top quality artworks. They include some from their own local artists, and all have gone before our rigorous selection panel to be chosen for the show.”

All art on display is for sale at prices ranging from $100 to $5000. “It’s our mission to make the art world accessible to the ordinary person with a limited budget for buying art,” Ms Russell said.
Wairarapa artists whose work will be displayed include Mandy Emerson and Anna-Marie Kingsley.

Mandy Emerson’s artworks are like illustrated fictions, inviting the viewer to find hidden messages. She sold 18 pieces at last year’s Wellington show, making her one of the show’s top selling artists.

One of Anna-Marie Kingsley’s artworks features as part of the 2009 show’s advertising. She has branched out from still life “kitchen art” into “bloke art”, rummaging in her father-in-law’s farm sheds for old tools to depict on canvas. She is part of a team running the Wai Art Group for Wairarapa artists.

The New Zealand Affordable Art Show first opened in 2004 after a group of art-loving Wellingtonians created an opportunity for artists nationwide – new, emerging and established – to showcase their work. Each year about 800 artists are selected to exhibit and about 7000 visitors attend the show at the TSB Arena on Wellington’s waterfront – this year to be held from July 31 to August 2.
Sales over the past five years have returned nearly $3 million to the artists, many of whom have launched their careers through the show.
ENDS