The project is the brainchild of Gallery 33’s director Vanessa George, who wanted to create an exhibition that drew in an audience traditionally underserved by private galleries.
Works will start from $140, with around a third of the the artworks available for under $500.
"The idea is to make art accessible and to get people who wouldn’t normally come into the gallery, whether that’s school kids and their families, or just people who think there won’t be anything in here that they can afford, to come in," she said.
To keep things affordable, she gave artists a rough steer: produce an A4 sized work on paper.
"I was trying to keep down both the time commitment for the artists, and the financial commitment, because to create large works is expensive with materials, and its expensive to get them to Wānaka as well."
Her guidelines were not heavily policed, with many artists’ ways of working — like those who use thick oil paints — not suited to art on paper.
But that had not stopped them contributing and the result, she said, was an eclectic mix of work by artists that might normally be out of reach for casual collectors.
In drawing in a new audience and selling new art, the exhibition is a commercial exercise for the gallery, but in addition to generating income, the exhibition aims to raise money for an art workshop to be held at Te Kura O Tititea Mount Aspiring College.
With this the first iteration of the Small Works Project, the director was reluctant to speculate on what the exhibition might raise, but said that at least 20% of the proceeds of the exhibition would go towards a workshop.
The eventual percentage could be higher depending on the costs of holding the workshop, the amount of art sold, or the generosity of artists.
"The gallery, and the artists, are giving up a percentage of their commission to fund the workshop, but I’ve had some artists who are so keen to just give up their whole commission because they just love the idea of it.
"If at the end of it, there’s not enough, the gallery will probably top it up to make it work."
Ultimately, she wanted to engage with the community, she said.
"Wānaka’s a small town, and its the town I grew up in.
"If we can bring people into the gallery, and if they buy an artwork, a portion of that money goes back into the community, then I’d really like that."
