05-07-2025
Children's ‘exquisite' artworks radiate joy
Barnardos Early Learning Centre preschool children (from left) Calyx McLean, Brooklyn Paton, both 3, Kalani Pullar, 4, Tessa Fergusson and Penelope Jamieson, both 3, stand in front of their collective artwork ''Found Object Art: Whakapapa Whanau Rakau'' by the Barnardos at the Burns Memorial Art Exhibition at the Forrester Gallery in Oamaru. PHOTO: JULES CHIN
The Forrester Gallery in Oamaru celebrates 55 years of the Burns Memorial Art exhibition this month.
The annual Burns Memorial Art Exhibition, that showcases the artistic talents of school schoolchildren from the Waitaki District, is on show in the Forrester Gallery till next Sunday.
The showcase of local children's art was founded by George Burns, an Oamaru-born journalist who believed art was not a luxury but "a pathway back to sanity" and "a necessity for complete living".
Forrester Gallery visual arts curator Anna McLean said she was very proud of the exhibition.
"I feel immensely privileged that these exquisite masterpieces, radiating colour and joy, adorn the Forrester's walls."
Ms McLean said it was exciting to see "the creativity that local akonga in the Waitaki area are producing year after year".
She said the exhibition favoured community and relationships, creating meaningful experiences for the district's young people.
"The works by the younger tamariki are wild and expressive, while the older students translate their personal experiences and interests with immense detail and thought.
"They offer us glimpses into their unhindered creative intellect," she said.
Gallery educator Elizabeth King said all the Waitaki District schools including early childhood learning centres were invited to enter the exhibition.
Mrs King said "most years" all of the schools took part in the show, which runs over the school holiday period.
"It's a big part of Waitaki and the most popular time of the year, the community love it," she said.
George Burns was New Zealand's first Fulbright Scholar.
