Opportunity for art collectors

Te Wananga o Aotearoa tutor Darren Keith with some of the art work which will be on display at their campus on Depot St. Photo / Ben Fraser

Te Wananga o Aotearoa art tutor Darren Keith believes avid art collectors will have an opportunity of a lifetime when they check out the wananga's art exhibition.

It's been a busy few days for the art tutors from the wananga as they got their art pieces ready for the exhibition, which opened on Saturday.

But the hard work has paid off with an exhibition that is sure to whet the appetites of art collectors who are looking to secure great pieces of art.

"This would be a good place to look at, especially if you are looking at contemporary Maori [art]. I mean my work, you don't see a contemporary Maori element in there but there is some thing running through there that is indigenous," Mr Keith said. "So there is a good range of work from whakairo [carving] to raranga [weaving] to the visual arts."

The exhibition, called Ukaipo, features art from the tutors from the Waiariki and Tainui campuses and is being held at the Waiwhero campus on the corner of Old Taupo Rd and Depot St until September 19.

Mr Keith started getting involved in art as a student in 1994, at Waiariki Institute of Technology under the guidance of tutors such as Lyonel Grant, Tina Wirihana and George Andrews. Recently the 34-year-old completed his masters at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland.

Mr Keith's main medium is ceramics.

"What we teach here is a variety.

"We do drawing and design, we do painting, which is all in acrylic and we also do printing and ceramics too.

"We cover a lot of things so when the student leaves they've got an understanding of certain mediums but they can chose to focus on one medium.

The exhibition was also an opportunity for students to show off course work.

Entry to the exhibition is free and it runs until September 19.