Cyclone fundraiser for Waiohiki Arts Village a CAN do

Creative Arts Napier welcomes people to the opening of the Refresh exhibition.

Creative Arts Napier has had a very busy time with our Fundraiser for Waiohiki Art Village – a great night was had by all at the opening of Refresh. We are delighted to announce that so far we have raised $3252.20 with still a few days to go. We are also looking forward to seeing what the arts community in Taupo has managed to raise over Easter. This will be added to our efforts and the total raised will assist with the rebuild at the village. Thank you to everyone who has supported CAN and the Waiohiki Arts Village.

Many of you will have noticed some changes happening upstairs on our mezzanine. We are excited to announce the official opening of our new Members Lounge and Library. This Retro Lounge offers a relaxing place in our busy space.

Members will now be able to book the lounge free for small meetings or gatherings. Our art lovers’ library is fully catalogued and ready for members to borrow books. Currently we have a group of knitters using this space on Saturday mornings.

Members can also just pop in and relax with a book in the lounge and make themselves tea or coffee for a gold coin donation.

The CAN members lounge and library is open.

It’s that time of year to consider renewing your membership at CAN. Good news! If you sign up now you will get 14 months membership for the price of 12 months, and a free copy of HB Shorts - a collection of local short stories and poems.

Your membership helps CAN to meet its objectives of remaining an accessible and affordable space for our community.

Things are changing at CAN this week with new exhibitions in our main and small galleries.

CAN is once again excited to welcome back the Hawke’s Bay Photographic Society with its annual exhibition opening in our Main Gallery from Friday, April 14-27.

The society is pleased to be able to present a wide range of great photographs from members. This year they are also fortunate to include photos submitted by students from William Colenso College. It is great to see young people interested in this medium.

We also welcome back contemporary mixed-media artist John Tarlton with his new exhibition opening in our small gallery tomorrow: Exposing The Abstractionist.

California-born New Zealander John Tarlton received a degree in fine art at the undergraduate and graduate levels from the State University of New York at Albany. His paintings and prints fit outside the norm of traditional figurative and landscape motifs, instead his preference is to present works that are mainly witty and sometimes irreverent engagements; personal discourses and visual narratives that probe the individual and the universal on aspects of the human condition. This exhibition provides the public a rare opportunity to observe this individual and unique voice within contemporary New Zealand fine art.

We are looking for art tutors for adult and children’s workshops. Please contact Michelle at bookings@thecan.co.nz if you are interested.

We hope to see you at our double opening tomorrow at CAN or you can pop in any time and enjoy the wide range of exhibitions and our lovely retail shop full of local arts and crafts.