Latest News
November 2021
Millers Flat Chorus Cabinet Designed and Painted by Sally Jory [Tue, 16 November 2021]
Central Otago artist Sally Jory completed her Chorus Cabinet commission in Millers Flat in early November. The Chorus Cabinet art programme is a Chorus initiative which began in 2010 with a test pilot in Auckland to try and reduce the amount of vandalism to telecommunication cabinets. It proved so successful they have extended it throughout the country and now complete an average of 100 murals a year. The programme is proving invaluable as a way to help promote a sense of community belonging, identity and pride.
For the past two years Nikki Aaron from the Central Otago District Council and Rebekah de Jong from the Central Otago District Arts Trust have been working on making the most of this initiative by identifying and advertising boxes available to decorate across the Central Otago District. Rebekah says, "This initiative is a really good opportunity to add some vibrancy and character to the streets of Central Otago and see the works of our artists in public spaces. Equally, many of these designs tell stories of the area and encourage further exploration of the topic and environs."
After talking to locals in Millers Flat Sally settled on a telecommunications theme which references the early days of telephony, when companies used manual switchboard and switchboard operators connected calls by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks.
The Chorus Box work is one of a number of Sally's mural works in and around Millers Flat.
National Business Award Won by Maniototo Photographer [Mon, 1 November 2021]
Janyne Fletcher's distinctive works tell the stories of the landscapes of Central Otago and it's people. Beyond simply documenting what she sees Janyne incorporates her thoughts and feelings into her works to construct evocative, reflective and contemporary images. Janyne has a long association with photography, initially armed with her mothers Instamatic camera, she has been photographing 'stuff' from an early age. She has been inspired to branch out from a traditional photography business to the area of creative fine art and landscape photography - Janyne edits and frames all of her works and regards playing with a media, mounts and framing as an integral part of her creative process. Janyne has a gallery/ workshop on the main street of Ranfurly where she does exactly that. Her contemporary and creative photography has earned her a number of Nationally and Internationallly recognised distinctions. The latest being the creative arts award category in the 2021 NZI Rural Women New Zealand Business Awards. The announcement of the overall supreme winner will take place later this year.