The city of Dunedin is set to welcome a new crowdfunded gallery, Pond, which aims to provide a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work and make their mark on the city’s arts scene. The proposed gallery, located in Vogel St, has reached its crowdfunding target of $7000 and is scheduled to celebrate its grand opening today.
A Growing Need for Emerging Artists
According to Zac Whiteside, co-curator and artist of the gallery, the city’s arts scene is highly competitive, and there are limited opportunities for graduate artists to display their work in galleries around Dunedin. In fact, many graduates find themselves competing with each other for limited spots.
- High competition for limited exhibition opportunities
- Graduate artists often compete with each other for spots
- Established artists also face limited opportunities
The Vision Behind Pond
Pond is a proposed art space and gallery that aims to bring together practising artists from different career stages. The gallery will feature one communal and two exhibition spaces, and its co-curator, Zac Whiteside, has a clear vision for the space:
“That’s how the art scene is… having another space kind of relieves a lot of that pressure,” said Whiteside. He believes that by providing a platform for new and emerging artists, Pond can help to reduce the pressure and competition in the arts scene.
| Features | Description |
| Communal space | A shared area for artists to work and collaborate |
| Exhibition spaces | Two spaces for showcasing artworks by individual artists |
Showcasing Hidden Talents
Pond aims to feature work from at least one person who has never exhibited in Dunedin before, or those with little experience. This approach is designed to bring new and innovative voices to the city’s arts scene, and to showcase art that is “a little rough around the edges.”
“What we’re sort of looking to do is to really bring about new voices that Dunedin’s not heard yet, and see how Dunedin reacts to that,” said Whiteside. By providing a platform for emerging artists, Pond hopes to inspire new talent and create a buzz around the city’s arts scene.
“I really want to inspire young people like myself that you can actually make a living from this. It’s slow going, but the creative industry is ever growing.” – Zac Whiteside
A Bright Future Ahead
The funding for Pond will allow the gallery to run for about four months, but the co-curator’s long-term vision is to pass the baton to a new set of graduates who will run the space every year. He hopes that Pond can be used as a future place for students to exhibit their work outside of art school, and to provide a platform for emerging artists to showcase their talents.
“It’s slow going, but the creative industry is ever growing,” said Whiteside.
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