Empowering creativity through workshops
Cynthia Greep (left) and Maggy Johnstone enjoy offering creative opportunities at the workshops. Photo: Alexandra Konitz.
ALEXANDRA KONITZ
A group of local artists say they are helping others improve their lives and encouraging them to stand up for themselves while providing a platform for local artists to earn an income.
NZ Textile Experiences (NZTE), a Nelson-based business that offers art textile and fibre craft workshops, has become more and more popular since its beginning in 2016. The workshops now attract participants from all over the world to experience techniques ranging from bookbinding and felt work through to basket weaving and screen printing.
“It offers a platform for artists to share their skills and techniques with others who are on their artistic journey,” explains Cynthia Greep, who recently took over the business.
She says it is essential to have the opportunity to be creative, especially in this day and age.
“People are not aware, but the process of creating art helps process feelings and at the same time reduces stress and anxiety while increasing self-esteem,” Cynthia says. “This is so important as the world we live in can be quite hard and destructive at times.”
With workshops in Inangahua, Westport, and Nelson Tasman, Cynthia says it is crucial to offer the workshops not only as an opportunity for people to be creative, but also as a platform for artists, because many artists are still not valued for their time, skill and experience. In fact, some people still don’t see being an artist as a real profession, she remarks.
NZTE tutor Maggy Johnstone further emphasizes how important creativity is.
She has been fascinated by art since she was young.
“Since I was a child, through my entire childhood, I played with art and creativity. I cannot imagine a life without art,“ Maggy says.
Her current art centres around sustainability and gender equality by working with unconventional, pre-used materials that are regarded as traditionally being more handled by males, like iron, copper or wire.
Maggy’s list of achievements is long: she has a master’s degree in fine arts, has presented her own exhibitions in many galleries, and has taken part and been a finalist in WoW winning awards twice.
“We cannot change the world, but I think we can improve the lives of many people, help them feel better about themselves, and encourage them to stand up for themselves more. That is what art can do; it brings people together and helps them blossom.”
After Cynthia took over the business last year, she took part in the Chamber of Commerce Work and Art Programme, which is managed by Stephen Broad-Paul.
The programme is a free career support and business mentoring programme, that’s purpose is to assist creative people who have skills or current work experience in the creative sector.
“Given their economic environment, it can be quite challenging at the moment,” Stephen explains. “So generally a lot of artists will undersell their work initially.”
This is why the Work and Art programme was initiated.
Cynthia, Stephen and Maggy all agree that artists are getting recognised and appreciated more for their work and skill, due to more art exposure and education through social media and technology developments.
“Things are starting to change,”concludes Cynthia.
Anyone interested in checking out the workshops that NZ Textile Experiences offer can do so here.