Creative expression flows through the very taps in this corner of the west coast, guided by the presence of Karioi, the black sands that ebb and flow across the coast and the constant hum of the Moana. One of the cornerstones of Raglan’s artistic landscape is the Raglan Arts Weekend (RAW), and this year marks the 13th annual open studio arts event, showcasing the eclectic and creatively diverse arts community in Whāingaroa.
As sights are set on RAW 2023, the event aims to celebrate, acknowledge and be responsive to the needs of the creative community. This year, RAW is evolving to include ‘The Hatch’, an Emerging Artists Exhibition within the Town Hall over the open studio weekend, which aims to support and promote the next generation of rising stars.
‘The Hatch’, made possible by a new RAW partnership with Rangitahi, will be managed by Caleb Osborne and Miriam Collins, who are both local emerging artists and actively involved in the arts sector in the Waikato. “Within the arts sector, there are numerous barriers emerging artists often face when they first set out, such as availability of studio and exhibition spaces, gallery commission costs, and no real support networks to guide artists through,” says Caleb. “We’re hoping to help artists navigate this through providing a platform, exhibiting materials and guidance around the promotion and exhibiting process,” he says.
‘The Hatch’ is going to don the space of the Raglan Town Hall in the Raglan Arts Weekend, which will run over Labour weekend, 21st to 23rd October 2023. There will be an exhibition opening on the 20th, with the exhibition running from the 21st- 23rd. This will see approximately 15 emerging and upcoming local artists showcase their creative works for the community and RAW visitors. The amount of works artists can exhibit will depend on size and how they will need to be displayed. For larger works, there will be space for roughly 3-4 works per artists and for smaller sized works between 6-8, but this also depends on final artist numbers.
The team is on the hunt for emerging artists to apply for one of the 15 spots up for grabs. “We’ve endeavored to make the application process as smooth as possible,” says Caleb. “The only two requirements are that you identify with the emerging artist definition on our website, and that you live locally in the Whaingaroa area,” he says. “We are defining ‘emerging artist’ as those who do not have major gallery representation and prominent exhibiting or commission-based sales experience, have a desire to build their own business capability and are not receiving an income solely from their artistic careers,” says Caleb. “We believe that by defining this category in such a way provides opportunity to artists who would benefit most from being involved in this project.”
“For a sustainable arts community, we believe that platforms such as these are key to unearth potential talent,” says Sam Laity, general manager at Rangitahi. “‘The Hatch’ really feels like a groundswell incubator, led by two emerging artists themselves, and we hope it will not only support the next gen of artists but will help Raglan locals and visitors discover new styles and creators.”
Applications will be open for four weeks, from the 3rd of April 2023 until 28th April 2023. Visit www.raglanartsweekend.nz and look at ‘Artist Registration’ for more info on what’s needed to apply. Complete registrations, along with any queries, should be sent to rawemergingartist@outlook.co.nz by 28 April 2023. We will get back to you once applications have closed with confirmation on whether you have been successful or not. For those applicants who are successful, the registration fee is $85.00.
