Do you enjoy looking at Art? Like to discover local artists? Exploring a new area and want to include galleries and artists in your wanderings?
Then http://www.arttrails.nz is for you. It’s about ‘putting New Zealand Art on the Map’ so begins with a colourful New Zealand map divided into regions. It says it is the ‘premier online guide to arts, culture and heritage destinations in New Zealand’. It’s easy to view on your phone so it’s a handy touring tool.
I discovered it while ‘sitting’ in the Lysaght-Watt Gallery, our local community Art Gallery in Hawera, staffed by volunteers. For me the acid test for this site was to see if our gallery was listed. We are not a major gallery and many people think Taranaki is out of the way, so it’s always important to check if we have a presence on websites like this that will help people find us.
Clicking on Taranaki offers me a choice of two ‘trails’ – North or South. The South link provides a map with different coloured pins for Galleries, Artists and Museums. I click on the Gallery pin in Hawera and here we are – with photo, hours and phone details. Each pin has enough detail to help you know what’s available and, if necessary to make direct contact with an artist who may not have regular studio hours. It will be easy to create your own trail of visits.
What about a City with lots of artists? Auckland, for example, has nine different Trails listed. The CBD map alone is thick with pins but the map is easily enlarged to help check on individual locations. Plenty to see in Auckland.
We will be heading south soon so I checked the Nelson part of the map. Will there still be lots of potters and weavers as there were in the 1970s? I do find some ceramic artists but also a wide range of other artists and craftspeople. We won’t be short of artists and galleries to visit there, too.
Of course it’s possible to find details of Art Galleries and Museums on various websites promoting a particular region or city. I also found a comprehensive list of New Zealand’s major public Art Galleries on, surprisingly, Bookabach https://blog.bookabach.co.nz/guides/view/a-guide-to-public-art-galleries1
The Artstrail website is useful to locate those off the beaten track places and local artists studies I will enjoy visiting. Of course the real challenge will be NOT to fall in love with a piece of art that will prove difficult to ship home.
By Kaye Lally