By Hayley Gastmeier
A travelling art exhibition has made its way to Masterton, and will leave with a piece of the town.
King St Artworks is currently hosting the Creative Spaces Capsule Project, which aims to connect creative spaces across New Zealand with an exhibition that grows as it travels around the country.
For every stop it makes, another piece of art is added to the collection.
The Masterton community art centre is the display’s eighth stop nationwide.
Chosen to contribute to the exhibition is local artist Amiria Wickham, with her ‘nicho’ which features Te Ore Ore Marae.
Nichos are decorative boxes made from mixed media, and in South America it is common to see them set upon tables and pedestals to display religious icons.
King St Artworks coordinator Ian Chapman said the studio’s artists created their own “Mexican Nichos” in a workshop last month, incorporating their own symbolic images.
Te Ore Ore Marae is Ms Wickham’s so called “signature”, featuring in many of her artworks.
Mr Chapman said her nicho creation “was a natural choice” for the project.
“We thought it was quite an important piece, and suitable to go off around the country because it shows King St artists at work, but also represents the area that we come from.”
Mr Chapman said it was also a good size, compact enough to fit in the capsule without taking up too much space.
Ms Wickham, of Ngati Kahungunu and Ngapuhi, said she was shocked to find out her art had been selected.
“They told me to paint around the edges so it looked really nice.
“I got a fright my work’s being made famous, going around the whole country.”
On Monday the exhibition will be packed up, with its next stop being Creative Media in Whanganui.
The Creative Capsule Project will conclude in a completed exhibition in Auckland in January 2017, before being an exhibit at both Wellington and Dunedin Fringe Festivals, and then coming to rest where it began in Invercargill, at the Southland Festival of the Arts.
