First Thursdays quarterly returns on Thursday, 1 August

First Thursdays Quarterly is a free and fun event for art lovers. Join in the open-late across six exhibition spaces all located around Earl Street and Marine Parade in Queenstown.

August brings a winter blast of new exhibitions to Queenstown including a rare opportunity to see the work of one of NZ’s most celebrated photographers at Starkwhite, a new space dedicated to a single artist, and an exhibition and artist talk at Milford Galleries.

Opening on First Thursdays, Starkwhite brings an exceptional exhibition to Queenstown. Presenting the work of Marti Friedlander, a series of iconic hand printed photographs capture the essence of Aotearoa New Zealand from the 1960s up until the present. Bringing an immigrant’s perspective to her adopted country, Friedlander's images of Māori, of protests, of rural and suburban life, and of everyday people and things captured a moment in time and in ways that have come to define this place.

Church Street sees a new gallery dedicated to the Thai artist Virut, known for his expressive pop art style portraits entirely made by collage. Using old newspapers and magazines which become his palette of colours, Virut blends and layers tiny scraps of colourful paper from which appear large size bold portraits.

At Milford Galleries painter Jenna Packer's works continue an ongoing practice developing a near-pristine land into harbours, settlements, and forests. Her new exhibition Giltwood draws on a traditional decorative art form of idealised country life, becoming stage backdrops to Packer’s visions of real and imagined New Zealand histories. Hear the artist talk about her work at 6pm during First Thursdays.

Artbay is about to farewell their exhibition by Fiona Kerr Gedson, so be sure to catch its last day for First Thursdays. Known for works that recall Kahu Huruhuru – traditional Māori feather cloaks – her work arranges peacock and pheasant feathers into intricate and often brightly coloured compositions.

Artbay’s former upstairs gallery is now home to Lightworx. Head up the stairs to see work by contemporary Māori artist Robert Jahnke whose practice draws on light, mirror, and reflection to create a distinctive glow and mirrored infinity. Jahnke’s cross form is the basic stitch in tukutuku weaving, signifying fortitude and virility.

Romer Gallery is known for its large format landscape photographs of Te Waipounamu. In August a work titled Rangitata will be in the gallery, capturing a fleeting moment of sunlight breaking through the clouds above the Rangitata River in the Canterbury Plains. This large panorama piece has a secret, its vista achieved by stitching together six individual images.

First Thursdays Quarterly is based around Earl Street and Marine Parade, offering exhibitions and opportunities to engage with the region’s creative community during a special late-night opening each quarter. Thanks to Akarua, join us for a glass of some of this region’s finest wine as you look at art work. Maps are available at participating galleries and on the First Thursdays Quarterly instagram – @firstthursdaysqt – and facebook page.

First Thursdays Quarterly from 5pm –7.30pm on Thursday, 1 August
Artist talk by Jenna Packer at Milford Galleries on Earl Street at 6pm