Organised by Southland Education, around 77 students attended the inaugural Southerly Art School on King’s Birthday Weekend.
Southland Education manager Lesley du Mez said it was great to see a positive response to the school and it would be returning as an annual event.
"Everybody just is buzzing and a lot of people just seem to be so appreciative ... To see everybody engrossed in what they’re doing, it’s just quite uplifting, really."
A variety of workshops from painting to carving were hosted by 11 visual arts tutors.
Artist Swiftmantis, creator of the gigantic cat mural on the Southland Education building, travelled from Palmerston North to teach a realism workshop yesterday.
"He’s gone to a lot of effort for us and such a good fellow — everybody loves the cat mural on our building, which is actually my cat Horace," Mrs du Mez said.
Limestone carving tutor Stuart King said it was great to be able to share the skill with newcomers.
Creative Collage Landscapes tutor Teri Linder said Invercargill had a "booming art community" and it was cool to bring people together in learning to create different things and explore new avenues of art.
