15/03/2026
Last weekend I hosted the second year of The Canvas Project.
I want to say a big thank you to all our locals who contributed to the 260 artworks we hung in this year’s exhibition. That’s up from 144 works in the 2025 exhibition.
We sold 96 artworks this year, up from 60 last year, bringing the total raised over the three weekends to $1,970, thanks also to some additional donations.
What happens to this money?
A large portion goes toward covering the costs of running the exhibition. The biggest expenses are venue hire, panel hire, and EFTPOS hire.
We have also set aside some funds to produce catalogues for the 2025 and 2026 exhibitions, which will be available to purchase in the coming months.
Another portion has been put aside to purchase the canvases for the next round of The Canvas Project, ensuring we can get the 2027 round underway in November 2026 without a hitch.
We are also hoping to use some of the funds to create more opportunities around the project, including running workshops for people who would like support creating artwork for the exhibition. We are also looking at developing online resources that people can access to help guide them through the creative process, and in the future we hope to create paid opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in the project.
There are many people volunteering their time to make this project happen. We are very fortunate to have people like Tatiana, who volunteers her time to help set up the exhibition, assist on opening night, and offer endless moral support.
And Laurie Mango, artist and studio owner, who travels over from Thames to help run the exhibition for the entire weekend alongside Lee Samuel.
A big thank you also to Dani, who donated her time to help get the website running smoothly to handle the large influx of registrations, and who also took photos on opening night.
There are many others helping behind the scenes with planning, ideas, and future development in unpaid volunteer roles. It is all hugely appreciated.
Every one of these people supports the cause of making art accessible and using creativity to support the mental health of people with disabilities in our community.
Thank you also to the Hamilton Libraries that came on board this year as drop-off and pick-up points. And a massive thank you to Te Awamutu Library, who handled a huge workload with the large influx of artworks this year.
Enjoy the artwork, and keep an eye out for the catalogue coming soon!
