Life drawing class ejected after fire drill
A life drawing group has been kicked out of an Auckland community centre after their nude model was caught changing during a fire drill.
Life Drawing group co-ordinator Elizabeth Anderson said that for the past 30 years, the group has met weekly at the Ponsonby Community Centre, which hosts a wide array of activities and classes.
But six weeks ago, the group had to evacuate during a fire drill, and the centre manager allegedly yelled at the model as she was trying to change.
“She was bending over trying to pull up her knickers with her bum facing to the door,” Anderson said.
“The manager, who was at the time acting as the fire drill officer or whatever they call warden, opened the door and told her, yelled at her, to ‘Get out’.”
The model had struggled to put on her clothes due to an old injury.
Three weeks after the incident, Anderson was told the group needed to find a new home. “She called me into the office as we were leaving [class] and handed me a letter from the board saying that we are no longer able to hire the hall.”
The group was given two weeks to find a new venue, Anderson said.
Acting chairman of the Ponsonby Community Centre board Nick Davies said the board was in the process of organising an in-person meeting with the group’s representative next week.
“I can confirm that the board of the Ponsonby Community Centre has been presented with several health and safety challenges over time that we’ve been unable to resolve with the life drawing group. We take our regulatory and legislative obligations seriously and are guided by them in all our decisions.”
Anderson said the group was yet to find a new permanent home.