Blue Oyster Art Project Space facts for kids
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| Established | 29 June 1999 |
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| Location | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Type | Contemporary art gallery |
| Founder | Steve Carr |
The Blue Oyster is a cool art gallery right in the middle of Dunedin, New Zealand. It's a special place where artists can show off new and exciting art. Over its first 10 years, Blue Oyster featured more than 1,000 artists in over 270 different projects! It's still a great spot for artists to share their creative ideas.
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What is Blue Oyster?
Blue Oyster is a "not-for-profit" art gallery. This means it doesn't try to make money from its art shows. Instead, its main goal is to help artists and the art community. It's a place for artists to show art that might be different or experimental. The gallery helps new artists learn and grow.
How Blue Oyster Started
The gallery first opened its doors in 1999. This happened after two other art spaces, Honeymoon Suite and Everything Incorporated, closed down. A group of artists, including Wallace Chapman, Kate Plaistead, Emily Barr, Steve Carr, and Douglas Kelaher, started the Blue Oyster Arts Trust. This trust then took over the space where Everything Incorporated used to be.
The main idea behind Blue Oyster was to help more people get interested in modern art. They wanted to be a place where new art ideas could start. They also wanted to include artists who work with all kinds of art materials and styles.
Programs and Support
Blue Oyster often holds public events. These include talks where artists share their ideas, workshops where you can learn new art skills, and live performances.
The gallery has a long history of helping young artists. It supports them as they start their careers in the New Zealand art world. Blue Oyster also helps promote new and creative art styles. Each year, the gallery helps with about 12 art shows, 10 events (like talks or screenings), 2 workshops, and 2 artist residencies. They also help publish 3 art books or magazines every year. Grace Ryder was the gallery's director from 2017 to 2020, and Hope Wilson took over the role in 2020.
How Blue Oyster is Funded
Blue Oyster gets its money from different places. A big part of its funding comes from Creative New Zealand and the Dunedin City Council. They also get support from many other people and groups in and around Dunedin.
Blue Oyster is part of a group of non-profit art organizations across New Zealand. These groups help new and experimental artists. Some of these other places include Enjoy Public Art Gallery, The Physics Room, Artspace, Objectspace, and CIRCUIT Artist Film & Video Aotearoa. Many of these places also started as small art spaces run by artists themselves.
Past Art Shows
Blue Oyster has shown many interesting art exhibitions over the years. Some famous artists had early shows there before they became well-known.
For example, Julian Dashper and Séraphine Pick had early exhibitions in 2000. Steve Carr also had several shows between 1999 and 2001. Dan Arps, who won the Walters Prize in 2010, had an early show in 2001.
Other notable shows include "Walk" by Kate Fitzharris in 2011, a solo show by Pauline Rhodes in 2002, and a group show with Sarah Jane Parton in 2005. Artists Shannon Te Ao (2013) and Nathan Pohio (2003), who were nominated for the Walters Prize in 2016, also had solo exhibitions. In 2013, Judy Darragh had a special solo exhibition for the gallery's grand re-opening. More recently, Blue Oyster also showed Duty Free Art in 2014 by the internationally known artist Hito Steyerl. This show was supported by Artspace Auckland.
