The Golden Bay Community Arts Council has a new arts worker who is hoping to create a community strengthening programme to support artists, as well as a Summer Arts Festival.
Gary Smith and his family live at the Riverside Community in Lower Moutere and his new role sees him drive to Golden Bay weekly.
“It’s not just the stunning drive, once there I really enjoy dipping into the lovely Tākaka energy,” he says.
The arts worker position that Gary has stepped into is a newly created role funded by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.
Many creative people make Golden Bay their home, and by geographic and demographic characteristics, it considered to be a region in its own right.
“Art is a significant part of the personality of Golden Bay. There are more artists in the Bay compared to other communities throughout New Zealand, which has created a real need for the artistic community to network and extend its support system as well as provide more opportunities for exploring creativity and expression,” he says.
Through Gary’s background in social anthropology and psychology over the last 15 years he has developed skills around event, sound and stage management, including festivals, community events and workshops and working with the subtle energy body.
“A favourite of mine was what became Resonance Karamea, a 4–5-day multizone festival featuring workshops, live music, kidzone, and both a tribal and electronic zone.”
The Arts Worker role is for a 12-month period and will strengthen the other work underway under the community arts banner.
“I’m not reinventing the wheel. My focus ... is to get a feel for what support structures already exist for creatives in the region, look for potential where there can be collaboration to create a network that stimulate artists and finally, allow space for my passion for this position to feed my own creativity. It’s exciting.”
