New Exhibitions at the Forrester Gallery

Published on 07 September 2022

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Burns Memorial Exhibition 2022 | 10 September – 24 October 2022

The Forrester Gallery is hard at work installing our most popular exhibition of the year. Our annual Burns Memorial Exhibition opens on Saturday 10 September, and the whole Gallery will be full of Waitaki children’s art. This is a time when we have lots of visitors, students, parents, grandparents and so many more, who come to see the art, do some activities, and celebrate our tamariki.

We have received so many amazing artworks, but some initial standouts are Oamaru Intermediate School’s Lichenstein style mounted animal heads by their Year 7s, and John Pule inspired etchings by their Year 8s.

The Director of the Forrester Gallery, Chloe Searle said “I want to thank all the students and their teachers for their hard mahi putting together the artwork for the exhibition. Thank you as well to the Friends of the Forrester for their support with getting works in, funding buses and returning works at the end of the exhibition.”

“This year we invited Jenny Kitchin to judge last year’s works and select a work that we could use on all our promotion, including a new flag that flies on top the Forrester Gallery while the Burns exhibition is on. It is great to be using the flagpole which was funded by a bequest from Beryl Laraman.”

Visitors are invited to do our Burns Imaginary Creatures Scavenger Hunt and activity. This is based on the surrealist parlour game The Exquisite Corpse, where you are invited to draw body parts as you explore the Gallery and take inspiration from the work in display. Then, using recycled materials at the creation station you can make your Imaginary Creature and take home or leave on display.

The Burns Memorial Exhibition started in 1970 and is named after George Burns (1903-1970). Mr Burns, who was born and educated in Ōamaru, was editor for the Christchurch Star-Sun. During his time there The Star ran an annual schools’ art exhibition throughout the South Island. Although this South Island exhibition no longer takes place the Burns Memorial Art Exhibition is held each year in memory of George Burns. They were first run by the North Otago Art Society and held in the Athenaeum above the Waitaki Museum. In 1984 the venue changed to the Forrester Gallery where they have been held ever since.

We also have a small exhibition in the Vault Gallery called “Who was Hubert Struyk?”. This small exhibition brings some back of house collection work into the public space, where we can share the rediscovery of Gallery owner and painter Hubert Struyk with our community.

Both the Burns Memorial Exhibition and Who was Hubert Struyk? are on display from 10 September-24 October 2022 at the Forrester Gallery.

 

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