Guide to art and culture

A free art and culture guide aims to encourage visitors to see the ’’unique and boutique of Nelson’’.

Red Art Gallery owners Sarah Sharp and Caroline Marshall have created a colourful guide of 24 local businesses on a walkable route through the city.

Sharp said she got the idea from her travels to Sydney and Melbourne.

‘‘We really loved their guides that they had for the city. They had a lovely urban walkabout guide, which links a lot of spaces that have a common interest. [It was] quite an edited independent selection of the stores.’’

Five thousand copies of the guide, Nelson Wakatu, The Culture Lover’s Guide to the Art Centre of New Zealand, have been printed as a trial.

Sharp said they chose their favourite boutique businesses to feature in the guide.

‘‘It’s not a money making venture, it’s really just to work with all of these other businesses, who are all friends of ours.

‘‘We love and support each of those businesses.’’

Sharp said the map celebrated the ‘‘unique and boutique of Nelson’’.

‘‘We want to live in a vibrant city and helping Nelson become an even more vibrant city. And so it’s these small things that we do as a community that help make it that.’’

The map was designed by Floridabased traveller and illustrator Steph Davlantes, who Sharp and Marshall met in Nelson.

‘‘It was nice to have a traveller’s point of view on it,’’ Sharp said. ‘‘We really wanted to have a map that tourists would want to take home, so you could put that on your wall.’’

Sharp said they would like an app for the guide at some stage.

‘‘If there was an NMIT student that would like to take it on as a project that would be fantastic,’’ she said.

Marshall said she imagined the first copies would go ‘‘quite quickly’’, and they would print more.

The map is available for free at Red Art Gallery and all the businesses featured on the map.

‘‘The lovely thing is, people have been taken them with them and then sent them overseas to their family,’’ Marshall said.

‘‘Also, which has been unexpected really is locals really love them and are really excited by it and proud of it.’’