Arrowtown Creative Arts Society (ACAS), celebrating its 10th anniversary next month, can quote the The New York Times to validate its success.

In April, its travel section recommended Arrowtown’s Arts Trail and described the town as “an artsy village”.

Founding chairman John Lapsley says that squares with ACAS’s founding mission statement: “To establish Arrowtown as one of New Zealand’s leading centres for the creative arts and industries.”

In 2016, Arrowtown had just one “serious”  retail gallery, but now has 19 studios and galleries on its arts trail.

Current co-chair Julian Knights says ACAS has staged about 70 arts events over 10 years, from exhibitions and talks and chamber concerts to big outdoor opera concerts, first hosted by Margot and Bruce Robinson and now Sharyn and Grant Stalker.

“They’re large events which have showcased young opera performers it often turned out were on their way to big careers.”

Lapsley believes the secret to ACAS’s success is its 1000-plus supporter base — “most regional businesses would envy its size”.

“Having that scale of marketing reach means quite often our events become ‘house full’ occasions.

“We also have a spread of local benefactors we don’t individually ask the earth of — so we’re underpinned by a ‘generosity group’ rather than some singular wealthy backer.

“We’ve always kept a strictly-Arrowtown identity and we’re very careful to ensure most of our events run in the black.

“It’s helped our boards have been a mixture of both business and arts industry people, and from the start we’ve had terrific support from local media, most notably Mountain Scene.”

Knights believes much of the credit for ACAS’s success goes to the Arrowtown community — “Arrowtowners are people who join up and then turn up”.

“Visiting performers remark on how much they enjoy Arrowtown audiences.

“And 16 locals are also ACAS benefactors — they’re great people who’re financially vital to us.”

Knights says their founders rightly believed Arrowtown, due to its natural beauty, smaller scale and its arts people, could become a top “boutique arts destination” like Taos, St Ives or Sedona.

“ACAS has achieved a great deal in its first 10 years.

“We’re looking forward to expanding all that during its second decade.”

Details of an October 16 ‘big night out’ for members and supporters will be announced soon.

scoop@scene.co.nz