Artists drawn from afar to event offering the works

Neville Parker carving out a heavy metal message at the CollaboratioNZ 2013. Photo / John Stone

Eighty artists from New Zealand and around the world are about to descend on Whangarei Heads for the biennial CollaboratioNZ art event.

Mt Manaia Baptist Camp will be headquarters for the collaborative art making event, with sculpture, glass, ceramics, wood, metal, fibre, jewellery and paint used. The grand finale from March 12-21, is a no reserve auction of all of the work made.

This year's international artists are Bianca Beetson, Laura Hale, John Mydock, Craig Campbell, Carl Peverall, Mata Blanc, Jerome Blanc, Melissa Engler, Miriam Carpenter, Miranda Jones, Lindsay Embree"Prugger and Belinda Kay.

Visitors are welcome to attend the open day at the camp on March 17, from 10am-3pm to watch the artists at work. The auction preview at Forum North on March 21 will begin at 11am with the auction starting at 1pm.

This provides an opportunity for art collectors, art lovers and galleries to secure one-off pieces from talented local and international artists.

The event is organised by the CollaboratioNZ Charitable Trust. Funds raised by the event are used to pay for materials, equipment, catering and camp facilities and also to seed the next event which will take place in 2017.

CollaboratioNZ chairman Steve Haywood, a Whangarei jeweller, said the event was inspiring for the artists and often their work following the event evolved to a whole new level.