The wisdom of dishing out ratepayer funds to support a new art exhibition which might be in competition with the independently funded Blossom Festival arts exhibition was debated this week.
The Central Otago District Arts Trust asked the Vincent Community Board for a grant to help stage the inaugural Central Otago Art Awards.
Trust co-ordinator Maxine Williams said the top entries in the competition, open to all New Zealand artists, would be displayed at Central Stories' Russell Henderson Art Gallery from September 8 to October 26.
"With your help, we envisage embarking on a multifaceted campaign that will firmly put Alexandra on the cultural map, nationwide and worldwide," she said.
The awards would carry a top prize of $5000, the top Central Otago entry would receive $2000 and the people's choice winner would win $1000.
"We're hoping it will be a new and savvy exhibition, a nationwide contemporary art awards," Ms Williams said.
Businesses were also being asked for sponsorship and the event would enhance the Blossom Festival.
Board member Martin McPherson said it would make sense to work in with the Central Otago Arts Society, which staged an art exhibition during the Blossom Festival.
"They've been doing that for 25 years without any ratepayer funding," Mr McPherson said.
"Aren't we running the risk of being seen to be promoting something [the new exhibition] that could be seen as elitist?"
The Central Otago District Council already provided $37,000 in funding for the trust.
Board member Tim Cadogan said he would feel more comfortable supporting the new exhibition if he knew the arts society, which operated without ratepayer funds, also supported such an event.
"I don't want to shaft the arts society and I'm very worried about that clash between the two events, regardless of whether one is slightly flasher than the other."
Graeme Bell believed the two events would complement each other and said the new exhibition would be an extra attraction, bringing more people in to view the festival arts display.
The board agreed to give the trust $4000 for the new venture.
Promote Dunstan will be given $10,000 to organise events next year marking the 150th anniversary of gold being discovered in the district. The board noted a contestable fund of $200,000 had been made available by the Central Lakes Trust for the same purpose.
Terrace Distributors will receive $2245, half the cost of of placing Alexandra images on one of its fleet of vehicles. The company already has Central Otago images on the sides of its truck and trailer units and has covered the costs itself in the past.
Board members agreed the vehicles were a "mobile billboard" for the district, and the company received no direct benefit from placing the images on its vehicles.
