Creative journey weekend in the city
Manawatu¯ artists are inviting people to step inside their studios and workrooms for a peak into the creative process.
Now in its third year, Square Edge Arts Centre’s Art Trail Manawatu¯ is a weekend-long festival that celebrates local art and artists.
Art Trail co-ordinator Nicola Gregory said this weekend would be the festival’s biggest incarnation yet. It begins with a soiree to open the Trail Mix art exhibition at Square Edge this evening.
The exhibition will showcase the work of many of the more than 70 artists taking part in the festival and runs until the end of the month.
Gregory said exploring the trail of stops across Manawatu¯ would give people the chance to be inspired by local art, talk with artists and even indulge in creativity and art-making themselves. The artists will give talks, hold workshops and in-studio sessions in more than 30 locations across the region, including in Palmerston North, Pohangina, Mangaweka, Foxton and Feilding.
The weekend will also include a film screening tomorrow, and a series of concerts and performances, and artworks will be on sale. ‘‘Creativity makes people feel happy, simple. So the more accessible we can make the creative arts in the community, the happier our children and mums and dads will be in their lives,’’ Gregory said. A guide book mapping the festival’s events, location and timetable is available from the Art Trail Manawatu¯ website.