In Cromwell’s historic district there is a quaint wooden yellow building which overlooks the lake.
Here a Central Otago collective has gallery-running down to a fine art.
The Hullabaloo Arts Space gallery is celebrating 10 years of being run by artists with its "Past and Present" exhibition which will display the works of current and former members.
It will start officially on Monday and run until September 17.
"The collective utilises the skills that members bring. For example graphic design, web design, photography, business and marketing experience."
The small gallery is filled with its members’ works, which change on a monthly basis.
At any given time these could include prints, paintings, photographs, ceramics, jewellery or sculpture.
This type of collective is rare in New Zealand, she says.
"Hullabaloo is unique in Otago and Southland for its longevity and ability to thrive and grow in a small community. Hullabaloo provides the region with an opportunity to see and purchase local artists’ work as well as talk to them when they are on duty at the gallery."
Member Marion Vialade, of Alexandra, is a self-taught print maker.
She says the collective system helps emerging artists like her by giving them wall space.
Its members look after the gallery, which is open week-long, on a daily rotating roster.
This means people with knowledge of the works can talk to visitors about the creative process, she says.
"You get to meet the people who will be buying your work. You can tell the story, which helps promote it. I think the story can give more meaning to the art."
Artists are also more than welcome to create on duty.
"One member, a carver, sometimes has the desk covered in the birds he carves."
Founder Odelle Morshuis says she became involved in artist collectives while living in the United Kingdom.
"With a collective you’re the master of your own destiny. It means people can have a solo show, which can be pretty hard to get.
"It also means you don’t have to pay commission. Everything goes directly back to the artist."
Hullabaloo began as her personal gallery in 2004 in what is now jewellery-based gallery Objects of Art in the historic precinct.
However, she drew on her overseas experiences two years later and knocked on the doors of local artists to determine interest in a collective.
An initial group of about seven people took on the task.
In its 10 years as a collective about 30 people have been involved.
Mrs Morshuis says it is now capped at 15 people, all of whom are from the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes districts.
"There are people on the waiting list. There’s just not enough wall space."
The gallery is bustling in summer, thanks partly to its location.
"The historic precinct has definitely become a destination, with things like the farmers’ market.
"It’s definitely seasonal. In the depths of winter it goes quiet. Although there are regulars who will come any time of year."
Mrs Morshuis is no longer a member of the collective, opting to run her own gallery from her Bannockburn home.
She describes her current works as stylised urban landscape and abstract paintings.
While she loved the atmosphere of the collective, it did end up being a lot of work organising the gallery, she says.
"I loved interviewing people for positions, being able to see their work. There’s absolutely some really interesting work.
"It’s more democratic now since I left, so it probably runs more smoothly."
While it can be difficult to work in art full time, all of the collective’s members are "professional artists", she says.
They have had works displayed in galleries across the country and have won national and local awards.
Mrs Morshuis says she receives the odd phone call from people wanting to start their own collectives.
"I get people asking for advice, and I’m happy to tell them because I think collectives are great for the artists.
"So I’m sure there are some others out there."
