Blue Oyster Art Project Space facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 29 June 1999 |
|---|---|
| Location | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Type | Contemporary art gallery |
| Founder | Steve Carr |
Blue Oyster is an exciting art gallery located in Dunedin, New Zealand. It's a special place where artists can show off their new and experimental art projects. Since it opened, Blue Oyster has featured over 1,000 artists in more than 270 different projects. It continues to be a key spot for artists to share their creative work.
Contents
About Blue Oyster: A Creative Hub
Blue Oyster is a "not-for-profit" organisation. This means it uses all its money to help the gallery grow and support artists. It's a place for new and experimental artists to show their work. The gallery offers a supportive space for learning and trying new things.
How Blue Oyster Started
The gallery first opened its doors in 1999. It took over the space of a previous art project called Everything Incorporated. A group of founding artists started the Blue Oyster Arts Trust. These artists were Wallace Chapman, Kate Plaistead, Emily Barr, Steve Carr, and Douglas Kelaher.
What Blue Oyster Aims To Do
Blue Oyster wants more people to understand and enjoy modern art. It acts like a "nursery" for new ideas in art. It welcomes artists who work in all kinds of different ways. The gallery also hosts many public events. These include talks, workshops, and live performances.
Supporting Young Artists
Blue Oyster has a strong history of helping young artists. It supports them as they start their careers in New Zealand's art world. The gallery helps promote new and exciting art styles. Each year, Blue Oyster supports many creative projects. This includes about 12 exhibitions and 10 events. They also run 2 workshops, host 2 artist residencies, and publish 3 art books.
From 2017 to 2020, Grace Ryder was the gallery's director. Hope Wilson took over this role in 2020.
Funding Blue Oyster's Work
Blue Oyster gets its money from several places. Major support comes from Creative New Zealand and the Dunedin City Council. Many other sponsors and supporters in the Dunedin area also help out.
The gallery is part of a bigger group of non-profit art spaces. These groups across New Zealand support new and experimental artists. Other galleries in this network include Enjoy Public Art Gallery and The Physics Room. There's also Artspace, Objectspace, and CIRCUIT Artist Film & Video Aotearoa. Many of these places were also started by artists themselves.
Famous Art Shows at Blue Oyster
Blue Oyster has hosted many important art shows over the years. Some of these shows were early works by artists who later became very famous.
Notable Exhibitions Over Time
- An early show by Julian Dashper in 2000.
- Display, an early show by Séraphine Pick in 2000.
- Several early shows by Steve Carr from 1999 to 2001.
- An early show by Dan Arps in 2001, who later won the Walters Prize in 2010.
- "Walk," a work by Kate Fitzharris in 2011.
- A solo show by Pauline Rhodes in 2002.
- A group show that included Sarah Jane Parton in 2005.
- Solo shows by Walters Prize nominees Shannon Te Ao (2013) and Nathan Pohio (2003).
- A special re-opening solo show by Judy Darragh in 2013.
More recently, Blue Oyster also showed Duty Free Art in 2014. This was by the internationally known artist Hito Steyerl. This exhibition was supported by Artspace Auckland.
