Brasch Studio added for artists

Caselburg Trust members (from left) trustee Lesley Hirst  committee member Barbara Wilkins and...
Caselburg Trust members (from left) trustee Lesley Hirst committee member Barbara Wilkins and chairwoman Janet Downs are pleased the trust’s artist studio will officially open on April 1. Photo: Greta Yeoman.
Visual artists will have their own dedicated space when the Charles Brasch Studio at Caselburg House opens on April 1.

Located on a quiet back street in Broad Bay, the house — formerly owned by  Anna and John Caselburg — had  hosted a variety of writers and visual artists on  residencies over the past nine years, Caselburg Trust member Lesley Hirst  said.

However, while the Gwyn St property had provided plenty of inspiration for creative people using the space to finish books, artworks, musical pieces and other projects, visual artists had had to use the kitchen table  as there was no  dedicated studio space, Ms Hirst said.

But she said this would change in April when the Charles Brasch Studio was officially opened, providing visual artists-in-residence with a designated studio space. The studio was named for poet-writer Charles Brasch, who had owned the neighbouring house as his holiday crib until his death in 1973, when he gave it to Anna and John Caselburg.

The Caselburgs  used the crib as their studio before buying the house next door — now Caselburg House — as their home.

While Mr Brasch’s crib was now in private ownership, his connection to the Caselburgs and the Broad Bay area  made naming  the studio in his honour an easy decision, Ms Hirst said.

The $78,000 project  had been supported by a variety of grants and fundraising events — including a fundraising dinner in Arrowtown which was  supported by New York-based Kiwi artist Max Gimblett, committee member Barbara Wilkins said.

"That [support] was a biggie for us," she said.

The project had received grants from nine funders, including the A A W Jones Charitable Trust, the Otago Peninsula Community Board, Otago Community Trust and the Lion Foundation.

Caselburg House’s first artist-in-residence to use the studio space  will be jeweller Victoria McIntosh, of Lure Jewellers. The Charles Brasch Studio at Caselburg House will open on April 1.

greta.yeoman@thestar.co.nz

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