Whanganui/Palmerston North REport December - february 2026
Julia Ellery and Rachel Stockley
Julia Ellery’s Retrospective Exhibition
Julia’s Retrospective Exhibition was the highlight for September. There was a great turnout to the opening, and it was a fitting tribute to Julia, who has and continues to inspire the next generation of printmakers. Needless to say, her work was amazing too! Kathy Boyle and Heather Partel were instrumental in helping Julia pull the exhibition together. Support from PCANZ enabled a beautiful exhibtion catalogue to be produced.
To support Julia’s exhibition Graham Hall, Marty Vreede and Catherine Macdonald opened their studios to visiting printmakers. Key block, papermaking and dry point demonstrations and talks were given. Printmakers also joined Vanessa Edwards at the Sarjeant Gallery, where they watched a moving Kapa haka performance, followed by Vanessa giving a talk & tour about the changes to the Sarjeant.
Thank you to all who visited and supported Julia’s weekend. It was great to be able to meet up with other PCANZ members from across the regions, who turned out in support. As a result of Julia’s exhibition and the focus on print, we have had several new people join our regional print meetings.
Our monthly meeting challenges have continued to be popular and such a learning experience. We have had a Grey/Black print, a print that incorporates text in some way and a printed name badge challenge. The last being particularly useful, as we now all have name badges to wear when new members join or when we are running workshops. We will keep these together with our meeting stash so they can be worn when needed. The added advantage, no more wrong name-calling, as we now know who we all are!
We have rounded off the print year with our 3 Regions Print Annual Exhibition at Space Studio and Gallery in Whanganui. Featuring works of PCANZ members from Taranaki, Whanganui and Palmerston North. In conjunction with the exhibition, we also ran two ‘have a go printmaking’ workshops for the public. Julia led the Drypoint workshop and Rachel led the Mark-making monoprint workshop, supported by our group members who helped keep things running smoothly. As this was held in the gallery, people were able to get a direct connection to the works on offer and have a greater understanding of printmaking.
13th – 24th January 2026
Exhibition opening night 14th January 5:30pm -7pm
Gallery opening times Tuesday – Saturday 10-3pm
PCANZ member, Duncan Foord’s solo exhibition is on at Space Studio and Gallery in Whanganui. Don’t miss. I’ve seen the work in the making, and it will be a great exhibition showcasing Duncan’s fantastic woodcut skills and design. So, if you are in our region, add this to your list of things to do!
13th – 24th January 2026
Exhibition opening night 14th January 5:30pm -7pm
Gallery opening times Tuesday – Saturday 10-3pm
PCANZ member, Duncan Foord’s solo exhibition is on at Space Studio and Gallery in Whanganui. Don’t miss. I’ve seen the work in the making, and it will be a great exhibition showcasing Duncan’s fantastic woodcut skills and design. So, if you are in our region, add this to your list of things to do!
Wishing all members a safe, happy and creative holiday break.