Think Exhibition

Taking over spaces and filling them with art has given me a whole lot of fulfilment over the past few years. It hasn’t just been about pushing my own art out there, but also a way to connect with other artists and get their creations seen and on the walls of my (and your) favourite local venues.

I started putting offbeat exhibitions together in Mercury Bay four years ago when I created THINK. What started as a gallery/retail space evolved and morphed in many ways. With side projects like THINK Coromandel Gig Guide, plus music events, art festivals, pop-up exhibitions and more. The world of ‘art funding applications’ was explored and unfolded (thanks to my good friend Emma Mudgway’s involvement) and it all ended up becoming an invaluable way for me and others to connect with fellow budding artists and get our art on walls.

Over the years I’ve worked on a myriad of ways to bring an array of emerging artists into view of our community with traditional exhibitions, artist workshops, artist markets and so on. More lately for me it’s been about taking over some dayto-day busy spaces like cafes, vineyards and restaurants for longer rolling Summer Exhibitions. Just like the exhibition at

Eggsentric Cafe in Flaxmill Bay this summer! Which you should most definitely amble over to!

Like me, many find the emerging artist and outsider artist scene consistently inspiring. There’s a lot of unique talents out there waiting to be discovered and supported. I’ve often been amazed by the pure drive of our many new artists that toil away around us finding their way. They’re busy capturing our culture, our loves and our lives. The pure act of creation is more important to them than getting the work exhibited or sold, with artworks sometimes sitting in workrooms for years with only an audience of family and friends. I’ll admit I’ve enjoyed unashamedly harassing some artists to get such pieces into exhibitions and on show.

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Some of these artists are social media savvy, I’ve definitely found that Instagram can be a great way to discover new artists around you. (At the end of this article I’ll drop a bunch of Instagram handles for you to explore). I’ve met many artists through social media, but more often than not it’s been through building connections in the real world. Some came to the early exhibitions I held in Whitianga, which proved to be a great meeting point. Some I’ve come across through attending occasional artists’ wānanga in other regions. I’ve met new artists through friends of friends, and I also treasure the tried-and-true method, word of mouth. I’ve watched many of these artists over the last four years discovering and developing their styles and art practices, which has been a real delight. For those who hadn’t exhibited before, I loved being able to encourage and support them into their first exhibition experiences.

But as I said, what’s given me much joy lately is accessing widely used spaces like cafes and restaurants, to create opportunities for artists to get their art out there. It’s a great opportunity to get our art seen and hopefully sold, whilst on the flip side I think it’s important for the community to be able to access new and different art so they can expand their perception of art and be inspired.

If you pop along to Eggsentric Cafe this summer for breakfast or lunch, take the time to look at all the art. Some of the pieces exhibited may challenge your preconceived idea of art. A certain piece might resonate so much joy that you’re inspired to buy it for your own personal daily viewing. I’d like that to happen as much as possible so we can support these artists. Art is essential to our lives just as much as any other industry. We all need to access visual pleasure in our day-today surroundings. So, for me, creating opportunities for artists to sell their work and make steps towards building income from their art has been very important.

Whilst we display our art freely on venue walls, it’s worth reminding that art shouldn’t be free. No artist can live on ‘good exposure’ and ‘opportunities to be seen’ alone, so I encourage you … if you see some art that gives you joy, purchase it. Support the artist. That support will encourage and enable them financially to continue with their art. I’m not willing to subscribe to the ‘struggling artist routine’, but it definitely is often a reality, and we can often bounce around saying we make our art for ourselves … but it sure would be amazing if we could devote more time to creating our art because we can afford to. Artists all start somewhere. I’ve watched some of the artists I exhibited four years ago suddenly grow in popularity and it’s now difficult to get hold of their work due to demand. So, remember, if you’re supporting a new emerging artist, you may also pleasantly find it turn into an investment piece as they develop their art practice over the years and become more and more well known. Or just buy art for the pure visual pleasure of it; you’ll find emerging artists’ prices are within your reach.

These are some of the artists I’ve had the pleasure of exhibiting over the last four years and I hope you’ll pop onto the internet to check their work out. Better yet, pop into Eggsentric Cafe to view some of their works in real life. I also have a dual exhibition at Kua Kawhe in Kuaotunu with Becs Wood that I welcome you to view and support.

Nick Barry @bicknarry, Karenza Yates @karenza.jane, Morgan Keating Marr @cleveryou, Ahsin Ahsin @ushy_ushy, Brett Chan @brettchanyes, Cassandra Nevin @cassandranevin, John Paul Terpend @johnpaulterpend, Dan Jones @dfranklinjones, Amanda Rutherford @amanda_rutherford_artist, Dayna Chaffey @daynachaffey, Phoebe Gander @phoebeganderart, Becs Wood @becswood_artistnz, Beka Melville @bekamelville, Hannah Coleman-Smith @hanakowhaiart, Liberty Jones @libertyjonesart, Jazz Fitz @jazzfitz_, Martinus Sarangapany @orca_king_press, Roimata Taimana @roimata.artist, Jamie Farrant @jamiefarrantartist, Ina Arraoui @inaarraoui, Jonty Abrahamson @jonty.Abrahamson, Fauze Hassen at Fauze Hassen.com, Rehua Wilson @rehuawilson, Noriko Oki @Kamon_art_noriko, Debbie Lim @debbielimwellness_art, Amy Rose @littleamyrose, Emma Mudgway @emmamudgway, and me, Kenzie Sampson @kenziesampsonartist.

Please also check out @ thinkcoromandelgigguide, where you’ll find more write-ups on our monthly feature artists.

Kenzie Sampson

Escape to The Lost Spring

WHITIANGA’S GEO-THERMAL OASIS

Geo-thermal Pools Day Spa Cocktails, Poolside Dining, Restaurant

121A Cook Drive, Whitianga 3510, The Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand Supervised children 14 years & over welcome

www.thelostspring.co.nz +64 (07) 866 0456