Whangārei's Great Plate sale close tomorrow at Quarry Arts Centre

Closing bids for the artworks in The Great Plate exhibition at the Whangārei Quarry Arts Centre close tomorrow. Photo / Michael Cunningham

There are some impressive plates on display at this year's Great Plate exhibition at the Whangārei Quarry Arts Centre, though not many you'd want to eat from.

The artworks are up for auction in the art centre's annual fundraising event with bids closing tomorrow, with the plates more likely to end up on display than the dining table.

Almost 100 artists have plates on display for sale, with the profits going to the centre. Last year's The Great Plate featured a work by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The drawing named The Political Cycle sold for $2000 and helped the arts centre trust raise more than $18,000, the highest total in its then 10-year history.

Although there isn't quite that star factor this year, Quarry Arts Centre manager Sally Lush said with close to 100 artists taking part, there are some stunning works on offer.

Every year established and emerging artists from around the country donate plates to the Whangārei-based art and craft organisation that supports art and artists. The Quarry Arts Centre holds the exhibition of the plates in the Yvonne Rust Gallery and puts them all up for auction on Trade Me, with bids closing at staggered times tomorrow.

This is the 11th year running for the event which is a must visit for art enthusiasts and collectors alike. The plates come in all shapes, sizes and materials - wood, metal, ceramic and mixed media, they may have been hand-sculpted, thrown on a pottery wheel, painted on, glazed, woven or collaged.

This year's organiser, Sally Spicer, said with such a broad range of artists and so few limitations of what can be done with a plate form there can be unpredictable and exciting results.

''The variation and imagination served up on the humble plate is truly impressive and the whole team at The Quarry love seeing the plates as they come in," Spicer said.