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A youth-only art exhibition is coming back to Timaru for one day only.
The Muka Youth Print Exhibition provides a unique opportunity for young people (aged 5-18) to purchase original lithographic prints in an environment where adults are not allowed.
All unframed prints are $90, and the artists' names are covered during the show.
This encouraged children to choose work based on their appreciation of the work rather than the artist’s reputation or potential for financial gain.
In a statement, co-founder and Muka director Magda Van Gils, who had been involved in the project since the beginning, said by entering the room without adults, and with an opportunity to choose, young people really engaged with the works of art on their own terms.
“The method of exhibition allows young people to develop a unique awareness of art that cannot be taught.”
Ms Van Gils said the exhibition was arguably New Zealand’s longest ongoing art event, 165 artists –— 88 of them from New Zealand and 77 from overseas –— had contributed to the project, and tens of thousands of young people had been attending and building their very own art collections.
The event has been touring the country almost every year since its inception in 1987.
Over the years most of New Zealand’s major artists had produced lithographic prints for the exhibition, including: Ralph Hotere, Pat Hanly, Nigel Brown, John Reynolds, Gretchen Albrecht and Dick Frizzell.
Entry to the exhibition was free, any young person was welcome and there was no pressure to buy.
The exhibition has created a lasting legacy, inspiring generations of children and adults to engage with art through the Muka Youth Prints.
She said many of the young people who purchased prints in the exhibition's early years were now returning with their own children, introducing them to the excitement and joy of discovering art.
The event would be held in Timaru on November 11 from 3pm to 6pm at the Timaru Library on Sophia St. — Allied Media