Summer Arts FestivalWhakatane's Summer ArtsFestival has been an Anniversary Weekend highlight for over twenty years. Click on Programme to view or print the 2008 summer Arts Festival Programme.
What began as a single-event art exhibition has grown into an extended season of the arts launched each year on the last weekend of January and running through to April.
The Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award for painting and drawing is a major focus, supported by a variety of other visual and performing arts. The art award attracts entrants from all over New Zealand and many of the country's well-known artists are past winners, including Whakatane's Rosi Demant.
A multimedia exhibition, involving guest artists from throughout the country, fills the Whakatane War Memorial Complex with art and craft ranging from ceramics to sculpture, jewellery to woodturning and origami to patchwork. Most of the exhibited work is for sale and provides an excellent opportunity for local people to acquire works from nationally renowned artists.
The gala opening and awards night always includes a performance at the Little Theatre by a popular theatre group. This makes for an evening arts feast for the art connoisseur.
There's a perennially popular Antique Fair (featuring eight North Island dealers) and the Stone Carving Symposium, on the reserve opposite the War Memorial Complex, which also run over the Anniversary Weekend.
Two other popular, longstanding Summer Arts events include Jazz in the Park at the Whakatane Rose Gardens and Shakespeare in the Park at the River Bank Amphitheatre which are generally held in February and March.
The Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award and Summer Arts Festival are organised by the Whakatane District Community Arts Council. The programme will be published on this website once it is confirmed. Details to date are as follows;
- Stone Carving Symposium 25th - 28th January
- Molly Morpeth Canaday and Summer Arts Festival - Gala opening Friday 25th January. Exhibition runs over the weekend 26th 27th January
- Jazz in the Park - Saturday 9th February
- Shakespeare in the Park - Saturday 9th February
Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award
Entry forms are now available or the 2007 Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award for painting and drawing. An integral part of Whakatane’s Summer Arts Festival, the Art Award has a national reputation and a prize pool of $8,700. The Award attracts attention from throughout the country. Last year’s award saw 190 entries from which 62 works were selected for exhibition.
Date: Summer 2008
Location: Art Awards and Exhibition - Whakatane War Memorial Hall.
For more information: REAP 07 308 4098
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