But come June 30, Te Atamira founding director Olivia Egerton will pass the baton on to someone else.
Interestingly, Egerton’s already stayed in the role longer than she thought she would — initially she expected she’d stick around for a year or two after the Remarkables Park arts and culture hub opened.
Her extended stay has been, in part, due to the "interesting" economic conditions the country continues to face.
"The whole goal was that I came in to establish it and to get it to a strong place and, wonderfully, we’re there," she says.
"It’s time for the next director to come in and take it to the next chapter."
She’s proud of being able to hand over a more sustainable organisation with a "great group of local people running the ship", a programme booked almost two years in advance, increasing momentum and a growing national reputation.
Te Atamira’s now welcoming over 2500 people a week — and every day they’re seeing new faces — and is running at capacity some days.
"We have far exceeded our early targets of where we thought we’d be [two and a-half years in].
"When I say I think there’s room for more — sooner rather than later — I think the community have really validated wanting arts and culture as a key part of life in Queenstown.
"My only message, really, is for people to really support creativity and innovation in our community ... we need to have these bold visions and it helps create a more connected community, which I firmly believe we’ve made a huge step towards ... but there’s lots of opportunity ahead."
Describing the gig as a "huge privilege", Egerton laughs when she says her immediate plan after handing over the keys is "a cup of tea and a lie down", followed in short order by a holiday.
"Then there are a few things in the pipeline, but I haven’t landed on exactly what, yet."
Though she confirms she’ll still be in Queenstown — "Mr Egerton has made that a clear decision".
