Kāpiti Art Studio is a safe, friendly and creative space

A lot of creativity takes place at Kāpiti Art Studio.

In Volunteer Kāpiti’s monthly series featuring our volunteer community, Bron Thomas visits Kāpiti Art Studio.

Pop your head around the door to one of the Kāpiti Impact Hub’s sunny rooms on a Thursday morning and you are likely to find an industrious group of artists working away on their latest creations.

The Kāpiti Art Studio provides a safe, accessible and inclusive creative space where individuals who face participation barriers to the arts can express themselves creatively and connect with others in the wider community.

Sourcing their inspiration from the surrounding environment and indigenous cultural influences, artists are nurtured and encouraged to develop their unique creative paths.

Under the guidance of the award-winning environmental artist Rebecca Bond, volunteers provide gentle support and assistance to workshop participants in the studio’s Paraparaumu and Ōtaki locations, as they create beautiful paintings, collages, sculptures and wearable art for exhibitions, award competitions and sale.

Some of the studio’s artists exhibited and sold their beautiful work at the national IHC Art Awards 2024 held in Wellington earlier this year.

In recognition of the significant contribution the studio makes to our vibrant coastal community, they also won the art and culture category at the Kāpiti — 2024 Wellington Airport Community Awards.

Preparation is now well underway for the Kāpiti Art Studio’s participation in this November’s Kāpiti Coast Art Trail, where you will find their work being shown at the Big Mac Creative Centre, 289 Mazengarb Rd, Paraparaumu.

To ensure that this wonderful organisation continues to thrive and grow, Kāpiti Art Studio is now seeking applications from an experienced volunteer fundraiser to join the team. If you have expertise in grant writing, gaining sponsorship and other fundraising activities and would like to help, take a look at this great opportunity on the Volunteer Kāpiti website: volunteerkapiti.org.nz