OPENING: 6.00pm Monday 7 May.
AUCTION / CLOSING: 8.00pm Saturday 12 May.

Under the Rainbow is a week-long art exhibition / auction to raise funds for Out Wellington Inc., the volunteer group that produces Out in the Square (plus the Glitter dance party and Proud).

The exhibition features donated artworks by gay, bi, lesbian and trans artists. Works range from sketches to paintings, to collage to photography, and anything in-between!

Under the Rainbow launches with an opening event on Monday 7 May from 6.00pm (everyone is welcome) and closes with a final auction on Saturday 12 May from 8.00pm (again, everyone is welcome). Nibbles and bubbly will be provided at each event, plus a chance to score some amazing queer art at the auction.

Fundraisers like Under the Rainbow are an integral part of the success of Wellington's largest and most popular annual GLBT event, Out in the Square — help keep Wellington's gay and lesbian fair going for another 26 years!

We are now seeking queer artists (amateur or professional) who might be keen to donate some work(s). Just contact Andy Boreham (andy@aaronandandy.com) for details.

See you all Under the Rainbow!

OPEN: 10.00am - 3.00pm Tuesday - Friday.

Ace Antics presents a variety of artworks from the Ace House, a learning centre for adults with intellectual disabilities based in Mt Victoria, Wellington that has operated since 1928.

The Ace House promotes independence, creativity and community participation. We often rely on local businesses that kindly donate goods such as wool, tiles, paint and other craft supplies. The Artists are all local to Wellington and well immersed in their communities. They have reached amazing results through their art and offer a very unique insight to the world we live in.

The works are a mixture of traditional hand craft, group and individual projects which feature painting, drawing, felting, photography, hand–made paper, crochet, knitting and quilting.

Attendees of the Ace House are a motivated, creative bunch and welcome all to join them for the Ace Antics for a unique and fun perspective on life.

OPENING: 5.30 - 7.30pm Tuesday 24 April.
OPEN: Closed Wednesday (Anzac Day). Thursday - Friday 2.00 - 6.00pm and Saturday 10.00am - 4.00pm.

The world through children's eyes is completely different to how adults see it. Art is a powerful way for them to communicate what they see and what is important to them. They are not restricted or limited by adult concepts and ideas.

This exhibition is a collecton of photos, taken by the children of the Miramar North Kindergarten community, as well as art of other media such as painting, drawing and sculpture.

OPENING: 6.00 - 8.00pm Tuesday 17 April
OPEN: 10.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday – Sunday

'Speak 2' is an exhibition of jewellery by second and third year students, and last year's graduates, from Whitireia's contemporary jewellery design course. Some of the materials used in works that will be on show include: pantyhose, concrete, silk, currency, porcelain, and muka, as well as more traditional materials. Work in this exhibition is sure to speak to you.

'Speak 2' echoes the title of the 2011/12 Whitireia jewellery catalogue 'Speak', which will be available to view and buy at the exhibition.

Taboo or not Taboo: that is the question is an exhibition of rings exploring the concept of wearability, by first year Whitireia jewellery students.

Across the two exhibitions the work of 26 student and emerging contemporary jewellers is represented. They include: Vanessa Arthur, Adele Carpinter, Fran Carter, Georgia Clack, Carol Dacre, Karren Dale, Mieke DeCourt, Eleanor Denton, Tom Heynes, Tamsin Hooper, Milla Khmel, Siobhan McCarthy, Mahina Mete, Yozinzy Nachappa, Christine Nightingale, Amelia Pascoe, Helen Punton, Amber Samara, Moniek Schrijer, Jasmin Scott, Long Shi, Campbell Sims, Chloe Rose Taylor, Caroline Thomas, Camille Walton, and Keri-Mei Zagrobelna.

Several of the exhibitors have already won prestigious awards and have been invited to exhibit their work nationally and internationally.

OPENING: 6.00 - 9.00pm Monday 9 April (Easter Monday).
OPEN: 9.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday - Sunday.

This combined exhibition brings together Maiken Calkoen and Shane Wilson's different approaches to making art, yet their combined appreciation of the immediate environment.

Shane and Maiken were classmates at intermediate school in their younger days, and have since then both studied at the schools of Architecture and Design in Wellington. They have recently been comparing their artistic ventures inspired by Wellington and other places that they have called home.

On display will be a diverse collection of works including everything from traditional hand painted acrylic paintings, digital illustrations and 3D mixed media works to photographic canvas prints. Incorporating vibrant colour, panoramic views, strong perspective and observations of light, these artworks are certain to have something to catch your eye.

Come along on opening night, 9 April (Easter Monday) to meet both of the artists or throughout the following week and savour this exciting collection of original works. The show is one week only!

OPENING: 5.30 - 7.00pm Tuesday 3 April.
OPEN: 10.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday - Sunday.

Adventure Suicides and Other Possibilties is an optimistic and somewhat hilarious vantage point from which we can view life's inconsistencies. Bringing together two distinct styles of work, using graphite and paint, in her first solo show Sarah Matthew tempts you to take a trip through the looking glass and confront yourself!

For further information and visual delights from the artist see www.matty.carbonmade.com.

OPENING: 5.30pm Tuesday 27 March.
OPEN: 11.00am - 6.00pm Wednesday - Saturday.

Presenting comics and zines by six young Wellington artists/writers, Comics Generation showcases the exciting work produced by children and young people using the immediacy of self publishing to create and distribute their own media.

Ranging in age from five to 17, and using a variety of methods and approaches to visual story telling, the artists have been brought togther for this exhibition in recognition of their independent acheivements in comic book and zine creation.

Original art work and work in progress will be shown along with finshed comics and zines available for purchase.

In conjunction with the exhibition two workshops will be held to engage children in creating their own characters and making zines and comic book stories. These will occur Saturday 31 March and be presented by experienced tutors, with one freestyle workshop suitable for all ages, and a second focused on story and character development for older children. For workshop information please contact Paul Sanders at spacecatadventures@gmail.com.

OPENING: 6.00pm Monday 19 March.
OPEN: 10.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday - Saturday.

Jess Jacobs is a graduate of the learning connexion, and full-time painter based in Gisborne, NZ. Finalist in COCA Awards and Adam portraiture awards, and completed several corporate commissions here and overseas, and several solo exhibitions.

This series of 13 large paintings is based on the Life of Baha'u'llah (Mirza Husayn-Ali), persian Prophet and nobelman and founder of the Baha'i Faith, born in Tehran 1817 into an Islamic background. These paintings portray His life story in a unique way through His writings and symbolically signify different events in His life from his childhood in the court in Tehran to his incarceration in the prison city of Akka in what is now Israel.

www.jessjacobs.net.nz

OPENING: 5.30pm Monday 12 March.
OPEN: 10.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday - Saturday, 10.00am - 4.00pm Sunday.

Fishpie Stitches are a Wellington based group of 12 textile artists who meet once a month to support each other, share resources, critique, challenge and learn.

The name Fishpie came about as they meet after work and share a meal of fishpies bought from their local delicatessen.

They have been meeting for over five years, still eat fishpies, and this exhibition is their second.

This second exhibition - A textile view of Cuba Street – is a diverse collection of textile art inspired by images of Cuba Street.

OPENING: 5.00 - 8.00pm Monday 5 March.
OPEN: 10.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday - Sunday.

Based in an old diesel mechanics warehouse in Owhiro Bay, Nautilus Creative Space is home to over 20 visual artists and countless musicians. From jewellers, sculptors, and painters, to tattoo artists and furniture makers, artists of all types make up this inspired haven by the sea.

On 5 March, the public will get a rare treat as the artists from Nautilus emerge from their shell and showcase their work at Thistle Hall. The walls will be dripping with goodies and treasures of all flavours, including featured artists Bruce Mahalski, jewelers Jean Burgers and Marisa McLuckie, and the wonderous creations of Eryn Gribble. Also, on display will be Mary Laine's burtonesque marionettes, along with dozens more eclectic artworks to dazzle the senses.

Come and bask in this fantastic opportunity to experience the creativity and community of this amazing artistic co-operative. The show is one week only!

OPENING: 6.00 - 9.00pm Tuesday 28 February.
OPEN: 6.00pm - 9.00pm Tuesday - Friday, 10.00am - 6.00pm Saturday - Sunday.

Have you seen this woman? She is described as a young Drake fan with tattoos on her face last seen riding an octopus. She is wanted in suspicion of stealing shoes and exhibiting aggression due to extreme steroid use. This exhibition explores concepts of alienation from society and the horrors of technology.

Enquiries:
tammyrosestretton@gmai.com
joniperfect@gmail.com

OPENING: 4.00 - 7.00pm Wednesday 22 February.
OPEN: 10.00am - 3.00pm daily.

The work you will see in this exhibition is the result of the creative output from three vocational day bases for adults with intellectual disabilities - one in Kapiti, one in Levin and one in Palmerston North.

All of the individuals contributing have spent most of their lives in an institutional environment.

These individuals are supported by staff that bring skills and experience from varied backgrounds.

The work produced ranges through traditional craft based activities to individual works that develop and demonstrate extraordinary and unique creative perspectives.

The work is essentially collaborative – between the person and their support staff - thus developing inter subjective communication with individuals who may have great difficulty with social and motor skills and perception. The work here demonstrates an inclusive process that generates a personal creative expression and coherence that benefits all.

MATERIALS.
Materials used are those that we can buy, beg or borrow. Donated cardboard and wood and scrap; found items, poster paint, paper mache and paper and generally available art and craft materials….

OPEN: 10.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday - Sunday.

Catarina has exhibited in groups in the past. This is her first solo exhibition.

We are living in the world of representation where everything seems to have a boundary, yet our mind and thoughts are shifting all the time. This exhibition shows the connection of shifting qualities, within space and time, of representation and the thoughts of mind.

OPENING: 6.00 Tuesday 7 February.
OPEN: 10.00am - 6.00pm Tuesday - Sunday.

Sarah Walker-Holt reconfigures collected materials to create jewellery that consists of multiple components, which she terms Situational Personalities. These components engage the wearer by offering numerous discoveries as to their combinations, wear-ability and connection to the garment. She aims to initiate an intimate relationship between the wearer and the object.

Avoiding traditional jewellery fastenings, the wear-ability of Walker-Holt's works is not immediately obvious. Elements within the work suggest a function and fit that the viewer may not see or understand unless shown, so that what each viewer brings to the objects is individual and due to their own learnt subconscious. A bricoleur, she utilises materials that are at hand; the non-precious materials and their construction test the perceptions and limits of jewellery, suggesting that it is not the materials that make jewellery into jewellery, but how we perceive the object.

- exert from BEST IN SHOW 2011 at OBJECTSPACE

In conjunction with JEMposium, Situation Personalities is an exhibition of Sarah's graduate work from 2010. www.jemposium.co.nz.

http://sarahwalker-holt.blogspot.com/

OPENING: 6.00 - 8.00pm Monday 30 January.

Photography – Exposition – Contemporary Jewellery Exhibition.

Sample the snippets, swoon over the scraps and spy the spectacle of works by Dale and Middleton.

Karren Dale, reeling from her last four years in the institutional studio setting, divulges her latest works. Free from the shackles of endless critique with a renewed artistic headspace, what will be displayed will be sure to evoke endless wonder and hot flushes.

Julia Middleton's angle comes from a year of near isolation in the Australian bush, with time on her hands and new materials to explore, works viewed may illicit spontaneous eye twitching and raised eyebrows. Art jewellery is relatively young in its inception and both these emerging artists place their interpretations in a gallery setting, striving to tip the scene upside down.

Opening night guests will be spoilt with freshly ground and brewed 'Peoples Coffee', and 'La Boca Loca' sustainable cuisine. Thank you to our generous sponsors. Wellingtonians make sure to visit 'La Boca Loca', Mirimar and 'Peoples Coffee', Newtown.

OPENING: 6.00 - 8.00pm Monday 23 January.
OPEN: 1.00 - 7.00pm Monday - Friday and 12.00 - 5.00pm Saturday - Sunday.

The works are inspired by a feeling of deep attraction and admiration towards nature. The pure beauty of organic shapes and the vivid color of landscapes appear to me universal and abstract.

A painter, Georgia O'Keefe said:

"Nothing is less real than realism, Details are confusing. It is only selection, by elimination, by emphasis that we get at the real meaning of things".

Our surroundings go through metamorphosis: the environment we live in is fragile and ephemeral in nature. They change and transform the shapes and physicality, and what we have captured with our eyes becomes the past in a moment. Composing the picture is an exercise in re-constructing the narrative story.

Yukari Kaihori is a fine art painter originally from Japan. She has studied in the USA and UK, and is now painting in Wellington. For more information visit www.yukarikaihori.com.