SUPPORTING CANTERBURY ARTISTS SINCE 2011
Since 2011 when many of the city’s art galleries were damaged or destroyed, Murray & Co has sought to support Canterbury artists by featuring their work in a regular exhibition series. In the early years, exhibitions were held in the offices of Murray & Co. More recently, interesting locations in the emerging City have been used for exhibition purposes. For some artists, it has meant selling work for the first time, and for others, a Murray & Co exhibition has acted as a stepping-stone to dealer gallery relationships.
We work closely with the School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury and its wonderful students. Often during their Masters or Honours years, such students are looking for a way into the world of becoming a professional artist. In 2017, we unveiled some fresh new works from a line up of talented emerging artists currently studying or recently graduated from UC's School of Fine Arts. The Murray & Co Exhibition for Emerging Canterbury Artists took place that year at The Piano: Centre for Music and the Arts @ 156 Armagh Street when nearly all of the works sold. The exhibition stayed open for a further week thereafter to enable the public to enjoy it. Artists in that exhibition included:
Thomas Hancock, Donna-Marie Patterson, Philip Murray, Charlotte Jackson, Maia Abraham, Kaela Marshall, Olivia Smith, Grace Gourley-Reid and Mathew Fennell.
Our thanks go to these artists, the ones that have gone before them – and to UC’s School of Fine Arts who continue to support their undergraduates and graduates to flourish and grow their practices through such initiatives with the wider community.
We also continue to enjoy sponsoring the School of Fine Arts own exhibitions at the Ilam Campus at the University of Canterbury throughout the university year.
A snapshot of some of the 2017 exhibition works can be viewed below. Alternatively click here for a detailed catalogue of works with the artists' contact details and personal statements.
We look forward to working with more emerging talent in 2019.