A new art gallery has just been opened in Raglan’s Bankart Street by local artist Amanda Watson. Amanda said, “The Combined Artist Studio began as I wanted to find a workshop space in town and big enough for another artist. For close to two years we worked away in the dirty little shed on Bankart Street. People called in to see us working, and a nice community spirit was born between the artists and walkers by. Mainly I used the space to make my paintings and then sent them to galleries around the country and overseas. ”
Amanda says that the vision for a larger combined studios and gallery space emerged out of their love for being in the centre of Raglan. The artist have just finished rennovating the space which now houses three artists studios and a custom built gallery.
The showing space will host a new exhibition every two weeks from artists around the country, filling the niche for more informal but explorative and conceptual based work. The gallery has an innovative hanging system that was created to solve the problem of unwanted holes in the walls after each exhibition. The system eliminates the need for nail holes. Amanda said, “I am enjoying the opportunity to use my training as a Fine Artist and Curator in this new project, and we are looking forward to connecting with people from the community and visitors to Raglan some more.”
