"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein
Every spring sees the Breadcraft Wairarapa Schools Art Exhibition displayed at Aratoi and, after a grim winter, this show injects some welcome colour and energy. The event started in the 1980s and has been running ever since thanks to sponsorship by local firm Breadcraft Wairarapa Ltd. This year it features nearly 500 entries selected from 23 schools around the region. Students show their powers of imagination in full force, with many different styles, techniques and materials being used.
The works here are clockwise from left: Old School by Jack Boggs, 10 (Fernridge); Etch Me by Cody Laing-Bayley, 7 (Douglas Park ); Leaves & Raindrops by Aaliyah Rimene, 12, (Lakeview); The Stable by Holly Gray, 16 (Solway); Masterton Tornado by Ethan Ward, 14 (Makoura College); Manaia by Sarah Kernahan (Wairarapa Teen Parent Unit); Untitled by Madeleine Forest, 13 (Wairarapa College); Cow by Anastasia Klimova, 9 (Kahutara School). Congratulations to all the participants.
Coming soon to Aratoi
Well known local storyteller, counselor, celebrant, and writer Gaye Sutton will be launching her book But for the Grace at Aratoi on Sunday 27 September. Her own experience of working with abused women informs the book which centres around a group of women living in violent relationships that meets each week in a community house. New Zealand author Sue McCauley describes the book as "that unfashionable thing, a novel with something to say.….an exploration of our society’s response to battered women. It’s a complex, compassionate political and personal story that, in some way, affects us all. It deserves to be widely read and deeply pondered.” Aratoi, 2-3pm.