News
Gore's SIT campus is joining the Southland Arts Trail, run by Arts Murihiku, for the first time on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, opening its doors for two days to show off the work of artists from its Art for Leisure programme.
Visitors can meet the artists, watch them work and see the results up close — acrylics, watercolours, oils, pencil and mixed media, across a wide range of styles and levels.
Behind the class is Julie Duncan, who has been running Art for Leisure at the campus for somewhere between 20 and 25 years. She is quick to clarify her role. "I'm more a facilitator than a tutor," she says.
Duncan has stayed with the class rather than retire "and relax and read a book" — the satisfaction of watching students grow keeps her coming back. "I love seeing people happy and improving and getting better and better with their art."
For Duncan, the connection runs deeper than that. "I like art; art is me… it's the expression of myself, it's my talent, it's my friendship; it's me in a nutshell."
She has noticed that students begin to see the world differently once they start. Details, objects and nature come into sharper focus, and that fresh perception finds its way into whatever medium they choose.
The benefits, Duncan says, go well beyond the canvas. "I like people and I love seeing people feeling confident in themselves, realising that they have a talent. I like seeing people achieve; I like seeing people enjoying company with others… and dare I mention mental health! It's absolutely the best thing for making you feel good about yourself."
The class draws people from across the southern region — Cromwell, Alexandra, Lumsden and Invercargill among them — and retention is strong. "Once they start, they usually re-enrol and carry on with the class," Duncan says.
She puts that down to the space students are given to find their own direction. "They can achieve whatever they want to achieve; there's room for all the individual styles and levels of artist." Guest artist workshops are part of the mix too. "This is how you learn," Duncan says — watching different artists demonstrate their skills and craft. "People go from saying I can't do anything to producing anything!"
The programme has also fed into the wider arts scene. "Plenty of artists that have come through the Gore art classes now enter exhibitions; they are well received and selling their works."
The Southland Arts Trail will be held at the SIT Gore campus, 70 Kakapo Street, Gore, on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, 10am to 2pm. The trail also runs in Te Anau on 24 and 25 October, and in Invercargill and Coastal on 31 October and 1 November.