The event may have been postponed for the second year in a row due to Covid, but the Raglan Arts Weekend (RAW) is still offering up art for its fans. For the first time ever, the RAW Preview Exhibition has launched online, meaning people can still see and purchase art, without needing to physically visit the Old School.
The Online Preview Exhibition will run right up until 31 December, and can be found on the RAW web site under ‘Buy Art’. Earlier this month, the physical Preview Exhibition reopened at the Old School too and will continue to run until 21 November.
Both the online and physical Preview Exhibitions are identical. As per usual, there is a very popular 300×300 show where artworks are sold for a fraction of their usual price, at $200 each. There is also a main exhibition, suitably titled: ‘And Then We Paused/ Reflections of a Covid World’.
“We’ve worked quickly to adapt in this current climate, and we’re pleased our artists get to showcase, inspire others and hopefully sell their work,” says Nicky Brzeska, Coordinator for the Raglan Arts Weekend. “Having an online presence means the show can continue running long after the physical exhibition is packed down, which is great in the lead up to Christmas and the holiday period,” she adds.
It’s a sizable collection of work with two artworks per artist, meaning 84 artworks are displayed. “A big chunk of these were sold in the four days the Preview Exhibition was open before lockdown, but there are plenty still up for grabs. We have 13 new artists and the collection covers a really broad range of media – sculpture, painting, photography, metal work, encaustic, print making, illustration, pottery, weaving, textile art, designer jewellery, to name a few,” Nicky says.
Sales from the Preview Exhibition go to the artists and also towards running RAW, a not-for-profit event. The physical show will be open at the Old School daily from 10am until 2pm and will run until Sunday 21 November. For those that want to visit it online, please go to www.raglanartsweekend.nz and look for the ‘Buy Art’ tab. The RAW self-guided arts trail has been postponed until Easter 2022. Save the dates: 16- 18 April 2022.
