Otago peninsula’s sweeping landscapes and intriguing wildlife are just some of the many reasons the area gets under people’s skins.
The artists taking part in Otago Peninsula’s art group OpenArt Inc’s exhibition at the Dunedin Railway Station this month are unashamedly huge fans of the area and see the exhibition as a way to capture the attention of those residents or visitors who have never visited the peninsula.
"It’s so close to town yet so many people never go out there. The road puts people off, but that’s being fixed, so soon there won’t be any excuse. It’s a great destination," artist Anne Baldock says. "We are hoping by visiting the exhibition more people will be encouraged to come and explore their local environment."
One of the things that makes the area so special is its wildlife, so this year the group decided to raise funds for the Wildlife Hospital.
They have asked artists from around Dunedin to submit an A5 work for the "With Love from the Peninsula" part of the exhibition. Each of the works, many of which will have a personal message from the artist to the buyer on the back, will be sold for $120 with the proceeds going to the hospital.
Dunedin Wildlife Hospital Trust manager Jordana Whyte, who describes the peninsula as her "happy place", says it is a novel idea and will help the trust highlight the work it does.
The fundraiser is particularly fitting given many of the hospital’s patients come from the peninsula, especially yellow-eyed penguins, she says.
"It’s a natural fit and we think it’s fantastic this group wants to do this for us."
She was particularly encouraged to see one of the works in the exhibition features a sea lion as she often volunteers for the Sea Lion Trust at Victory Beach.
"It’s a unique fundraiser."
Many artists and crafts people have made the peninsula their home; the art group usually highlights this with a regular "Almost an Island" exhibition and Christmas Art Fair in Macandrew Bay.
But this year they felt the time was right to share the creativity of the peninsula with the city.
For artist Pauline Bellamy, as well as highlighting the peninsula, her entries in the exhibition will reflect the Covid-19 times people are living in.
"One day I was sketching surfers at Allans Beach. It was happy days, everyone was relaxed, and then the next day people were running along the beach in their own bubbles."
Baldock says it was hard to decide whether to do a landscape or a figurative work for the exhibition, but that decision was made easier when she designed the poster image for the exhibition featuring people having a conversation around a table with the peninsula in the background.
"My other work is a landscape of Broad Bay, a stormy scene on the peninsula."
The table is representative of another aspect of the exhibition. Wanting to include a collaborative work which would involve visitors to the exhibition, the group came up with the idea of a "doodle" table.
It symbolises people coming together to sit around and engage in conversation, and they hope people will do this around the table as they draw.
"It can be a drawing, a pattern, even a few words ... a poem."
Baldock has lived on the peninsula for the past 18 years after moving back to her home town from Auckland.
"The lifestyle on the peninsula drew me in. It’s just where I wanted to be. Once you get here, it is really hard to move away from. It gets under your skin."
Bellamy is also a convert to the peninsula, having moved to the area in 1991, attracted by the idea of it being a great place to raise kids and being able to walk to work.
"The arts community is fabulous here. It’s very relaxed. A good lifestyle."
OpenArt Inc chairman Roger Weston agrees. He moved to Oamaru from Kerikeri in 2000 and then to Dunedin.
"When I moved, the peninsula was the only place to come to. It reminded me of Titirangi in Auckland with its art scene. It’s an amazing place to be."
They hope visitors to the exhibition will see their enthusiasm for the peninsula in their work and in the lunchtime talks they are organising covering a variety of topics, from women at sea to the gardens at Larnach Castle and the work of the Wildlife Hospital.
