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Friends behind showing of restored works at gallery
On display: Admiring one of the 11 restored artworks of the exhibition BeFriends at the Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru, are (from left) Friends of the Aigantighe PResident Peter Field and Past-President Roselyn Cloake, and the gallery director Dr Fiona Ciaran.
A SET of restored art works are finally getting their time in the spotlight at the Aigantighe Art Gallery thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Timaru gallery's voluntary supporters.
The 11 delicate works on paper include etchings, water colour, pastel, pen and ink works. Except for one, they have been donated to the gallery over time, but have note been up to exhibition standard because of their condition.
However in the past year the Friends of the Aigantighe have raised nearly #3000 to par for a Christchurch-based professional conservator to restore the works, which can now be seen in a special exhibition, BeFriended, which will continue until the middle of next year.
Friends of the Aigantighe Past President Roselyn Cloake said its members were excited to see the exhibition become a realisty as they had worked hard to raise the funds. "We hope the public will enjoy seeing the works and the gallery and leave inspired," Ms Cloake said.
Gallery director Dr Fiona Ciaran said all the gallery staff greatly appreciated the fundraising and contribution of the Friends towards the project.
By Guy Williams - The Timaru Courier - 10th November 2011
New TV...
1/07/11 - Friends new TV Have you seen our own white ware installation at the gallery? The Friends fridge is a quirky way to display membership brochures and entice the public to join to Friends. Committee member Geoff Cloake, has taken photographs over the last few years to record opening nights The photography is then made available for Friends and Gallery promotions. Now that we have a large collection of images and the albums are full, we decided to upgrade our own art installation at the gallery to show off his photos and promote the Friends. Keep an eye out for our new TV that shows a slide show of photos from Friends openings.
Help us Celebrate at the next opening... arrange your invitation
29/06/11 - Friends 35th anniversary celebration The Friends are turning 35 and we would love you to come to our next opening and celebrate with us! The next opening will be held on Friday 1st July.
Bronwyn Shimmin. Braided, 28 June - 14 August 2011
Claire Earlie Maxwell. Eau Revoir, 2 July - 10 August 2011
We are also having a dress up theme, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information and to receive an invitation.
Welcome to New Friends President - Peter Field
Peter Field (New President for 2011), Dr Fiona Ciaran (Director), Rachael Polson (Artist) at the opening celebrating the opening of Now & Always by Rachael Polson and The Labours of Herakles by Marian Maguire.
05/08/11 - New President for the Friends of the Aigantighe. The Friends would like to welcome Peter Field who was recently nominated and elected for President. Peter comes to us with a wealth of experience in voluntary organisations, a career in teaching, a passion for the arts and as a past councillor on the Timaru District Council. The Friends would like to thank our past president, Roselyn Cloake for her efforts over the last four years as president and seven years on the committee. Although she enjoyed her role, the constitution only allowed her to act at an executive level for a maximum of four years. "Peter comes to the committee with a burst of enthusiasm and energy and we all look forward to his leadership and contribution." - Roselyn Cloake
Restored Artwork arrives back at the gallery with a whole new look
05/03/11 - Adopt an Artwork Update. 2011 is the year where we celebrate our 35th anniversary as an incorporated society. We wish to congratulate past Friends members and committee's for their efforts over the years. The Friends have achieved so much and I know that the support is very much appreciated by Dr. Fiona Ciaran and the community. As part of our on-going support we have been working on the "Adopt an Artwork" restoration programme. The Friends have been fundraising to sponsor restorations for the permanent artwork collection. Some of the artwork arrived at the gallery in less than an ideal state and were not fit for display. We are now very pleased to see eight artworks conserved, and another three artworks with the conservationist . We plan to sponsor further restoration for a special surprise that the gallery has planned for the coming year. If you would like to sponsor the professional restoration of an artwork, please visit our website. aigantighe.org.nz/adopt_an_artwork.html
The Friends are on show at the Geraldine library
04/03/11 - New display at the Geraldine Library.
The Friends of the Aigantighe will soon be on display in Geraldine during one the libraries busiest times - when the locals call in to pay rates. The display runs for two weeks from March 14th - 28th to promote the Friends organisation and encourage new members.
Check out our display at the Geraldine Library. The opening hours are:
Monday: Thursday 8:30am - 5:00 pm
Friday: 8:30am - 6:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 1:00pm
New Exhibition still going ahead - March
1/03/2011 Our thoughts are with those affected by the Canterbury quake.
The Aigantighe will still have their opening next week as people need something to look forward to in these times.
You are warmly invited to the opening of:
Now & Always by Rachael Polson and
The Labours of Herakles by Marian Maguire.
Aigantighe Art Gallery
Fri 4th March at 6pm
Rose Festival - Great Success
30/11/10 - Timaru Rose Festival 2010
The Friends of the Aigantighe had a fantastic day out at the Festival of Roses 2010 with Arty, we really appreciate your support - our raffle sold like hot cakes and we handed out over 200 membership brochures. We only have a small number of raffle tickets to sell - Just $2 could win you a whole week off cooking with our fanatstics prize! - Bring some spare change to our opening this Friday 4th December and you could be in to win!
The Friends are on show at the Timaru library
04/10/10 - New display at the Timaru Library.
Friends of the Aigantighe committee members Helen Bonica and Roselyn Cloake set up the display in the foyer at the Timaru District Public Library. The display runs for a week from October 4th - 10th to promote the Friends organisation and encourage new members.
Check out our display at the Timaru Library. The opening hours are:
Mon/Wed/Fri, 9am - 8pm
Tues/Thurs, 9am - 6pm
Saturday, 10am - 1pm
Sunday, 1pm - 4pm
Polychrome winner announced
07/11/10 - Friends Sponsored Prize for Polychrome
Congratulations to Marita Hicks for winning the Friends of the Aigantighe Art Gallery Award for: Excellence in Polychrome for her entry: Tiki Ataahua, Photo Montage Print, the awards were held at the Aigantighe on Thursday 4th November 2010 www.timaru.govt.nz/art gallery
Artarama winner announced
07/08/10 - Jess Ayto received the 2010 Friends Artarama prize.
Artarama is a festival of South Canterbury student art. A wonderland of art by students aged 5 to 18 with around $2,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. This year the Friends sponsored a $50 prize and a free Friends membership.The opening was on Saturday, 7th August.
Artarama! Saturday, 7th - 22nd Aug 2010. www.timaru.govt.nz/art gallery
Aigantighe Exhibition ' A great Success'
Featured artist: The Friends of the Aigantighe held an opening last Friday for exhibitions by artists Jo Torr and John Kelman.
At the evening was artist Jo Torr (left) Timaru mayor Janie Annear (center) and the Friends of the Aigantighe president 2006-2010 Roselyn Cloake.Courier Newspaper Thursday July 16th 2010. The Friends of the Aigantighe held an opening recently for exhibitions by artists Jo Torr and John Kelman. Roselyn Cloake said the July 2 event was "a great success." "We hope that the creations of the artists will inspire many over the coming months."
Torrs exhibition will run until August 1. She is the exhibition loans officer at Te Papa and her creations examine mutual cultural interchange between Pacific and European people. Kelman's exhibition runs until August 8. A south Canterbury Artist, John Kelman is a gifted master of the aquarelle water colour pencil. He makes his own paint brushes and experiments continuously with new styles.
- Anyone wanting to receive Friends of the Aigantighe newsletters and invitations to openings is welcome to join the membership.
Arty has a ball of a time!
GLAMOROUS POSE: Emily Watson and Sebastian Elsen smiling for the cameras as they journey to Craighead Diocesan School ball.
28/06/10 - Arty escorts to the Craighead Ball 2010.
We loved dropping off Craighead school student Emily Watson and her guest Sebastian Elsen to the ball in Timaru. Belles and their equally dashing partners arrived at the school in all kinds of transport including vintage cars, buses, limousines and of course Arty our art car.
The Friends Have a new Facebook fan page
09/04/10 - Now you can follow the friends on Facebook.
It is free and easy to sign up to our Facebook page as a fan. Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, post links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. We are using a Facebook Fan Page to help build our on-line network find new Friends to support our community of art lovers and Aigantighe supporters.
Join us on Facebook by becoming a fan!
New membership brochure for the Friends
20/03/10 -The new Friends of the Aigantighe Brochure.
One of our top priorities has been a new membership brochure which will be available from March 2010. We aim to encourage people to support the gallery by joining the Friends membership. The brochure was designed by Roselyn Cloake and includes photography by Geoff Cloake. The printing was generously discounted by GEON print in Timaru: View the FRIENDS of AIGANTIGHE Brochure.pdf
Please Email us on:
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if you would like a bundle at your workplace or organisation to help us find new Friends!
Friends Gain Registered Charity Status
As we enter our 34th year as an Incorporated Society we can now celebrate our Registered Charity status (CC42952)! This helps us to apply for funding and offer tax deductions on all donations received. This has definitely been worthwhile setting up to offer tax deductible donations.
Congratulations Cheryl Gordon
Cheryl Gordon wins the Friends Award presented by Diane Turner.
The Polychrome art exhibition, which opened at the Aigantighe Art Gallery on Thursday 5th of November 2009, featured the latest works of art from students at the Timaru Aoraki Polytechnic. Amongst the recipients of awards was Cheryl Gordon who received the Friends of Aigantighe Award. The award, presented by Diane Turner, recognized Cheryl for her potential as an artist. - photo by Helen Bonica
Australian artist takes care of Aigantighe car After living rough on the streets for four months, Arty the Art Car has celebrated his fifth birthday in a nice new home. The car, which belongs to the Friends of the Aigantighe... Read article here
Arty Celebrate its 6th Birthday in September!
From a white Honda to a bright and crafty Art car, Arty continues to promote the Friends and the Gallery. The car continues to be the pride and joy and certainly has a major impact on the kids when they visit the gallery in the holidays or when Arty is out and about.
Arty continues to bring a lot of fun and colour at public festivals, exhibition openings and outreach events.
Arty the Art Car can be seen outside the Aigantighe Art Gallery every School Holidays.
He is used regularly for outreach trips to South Canterbury schools and is loved by all the school children. Kids automatically relate Arty the Art Car back to the Art Gallery. Happy Birthday Arty!
Friends Artarama Award Announced
Artarama is a festival of South Canterbury student art.
A wonderland of art by students aged 5 to 18 with around $2,000 worth of prizes up for grabs.
This year the Friends sponsored a $50 prize and a free Friends membership.The opening was on Saturday, 8th August.
Artarama! Saturday, 8th - 23rd Aug 09. www.timaru.govt.nz/artgallery
Above President 2006-2010 Roselyn Cloake presents the Artarama Excellence Award to Hannah Hamilton - Craighead Diocesan.
Have You Seen Our Cool Fridge?
Geoff Cloake our photographer has been recording openings that friends support. With photos accumulating in the albums fast, we came up with a cool plan to display the these. Visitors to the gallery can chill out while looking through the events and antics on the Friends Fridge! The whiteware installation has been given a new lease of life and is a quirky way for us to display membership brochures and entice the public to join our valuable organisation.
New Sound System
The voice of art will be heard above clamouring crowds, thanks to a new public address system the Friends of the Aigantighe have bought for the gallery. The Friends bought the 500 watt system in 2007 as a 50th birthday present for the gallery. As well as saving the speakers from shouting, the systems mixing board can actually save their voices. There are plans to start building a library of recorded speeches from the many guests who come to the gallery. The recording of openings adds another layer to what the gallery has to offer the community.
Does anyone here like to win?
Do you have a spare $2 floating around in the bottom of your pocket?
If you do then you are in for a treat as we have tempting raffles for you to go into the draw on opening nights. The prize is always a surprise and the odds are always high as winners are drawn on the same night. Come and see us on opening nights so you do not miss out!
What ever the weather
Ever wondered what the temperature is outside or the wind direction? Our committee member Geoff Cloake has designed a whimsical way to follow the weather... thanks to his efforts the Gallery now celebrates its very own weather house!
The weather house is hooked up to a local weather station in Timaru bringing live weather reports direct to your computer screen. The weather house features our very own Aigantighe building. Can you spy some familiar faces, or see the detrimental effects of Co2 emissions?
See the weather house here
Gallery Turns 50 Years old!
On Behalf of the Friends’ We would like to congratulate the people of South Canterbury on the 50th Anniversary of their public art gallery. Here's to many more!
Centennial milestone for Grant Family Home
The Friends had an absolute ball at the latest 100th celebrations! In 2008 we celebrated the centennial milestone of the Grant Family home.
The opening was a real success and resulted in many happy faces and new memberships. At present our membership is around 300 people – enriching the gallery significantly.
Aigantighe is Scottish Gaelic for ‘at home’. Who would have thought 100 years ago that the home for the Grant family would later become a home for art. The foundations that were laid a century ago allowed the public art museum to be founded in 1956. Since then the doors have been open to the wider family of South Canterbury and beyond. With community support and passion Aigantighe now cares for the 3rd largest art collection in the South Island of New Zealand. The high calibre and variety of exhibitions are of an international standard. Together with the art collection the team of staff and volunteers makes the Aigantighe a destination.
Art and a building equals a gallery.
but it is the Artists, the staff, the members, the volunteers and the visitors who bring the Arts Spirit to life.
At the end of the day it is about Atmosphere, discussion and inspiration. And I’m sure you will all agree,
that there is plenty to be found at the Aigantighe!
- Roselyn Cloake President of the Friends of the Aigantighe Art Gallery
On behalf of the Friends committee. To you the people of South Canterbury. Thank you for the support. Congratulations on the 100th Birthday of the Aigantighe House
