A Celebration of Art:
St Heliers Community Library hosted its 2009 "Celebration of Art" in August 2009. This was the fifth year the St Heliers Village Association had combined with East Auckland Arts to celebrate Art. A total of 56 artists from Auckland East Arts displayed more than 100 paintings, with many different styles which created an interesting and varied exhibition. Over a two week period nine members of the Auckland East Arts demonstrated their talents using a wide variety of techniques, creating a great deal of interest for those visiting the exhibition - inspiring some to have a go themselves!
Alongside the exhibition there was a Children's Art Competition, with the theme "Summer in St Heliers". Many entries were received from schools and even preschools in the area, with part of the prize for the winning entries being to have them displayed in the library. The class competition was won by children from Room 12 at St Heliers School.
A special mention must go to Small Miracle Preschool who entered the class competition and were Runner Up. The teachers then had an art learning experience where the children were introduced to the works of famous artists and encouraged to copy the style to create their own masterpieces. The children visited St Heliers library and watched the artists' demonstrations during the Celebration of Art. An exhibition of the children's work was held in September 2009 at St Heliers Church & Community Centre for family and friends who were encouraged to purchase the works for a koha. The work off these preschooleers was truly outstanding and the effort of the staff to promote a wonderfully creative learning experience is to be commended.
The Community Choice competition enabled visitors to the exhibition to vote for their favourite painting. The prize was won by Jill McArthur (for her realistic portrait of a leopard cub), and the runner up was Heather Hunwick.
Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who entered our competitions!
