ARTIST REGISTRATION

All artists, in all media, who live, work or have a close family link in the Whaingaroa catchment area (so anywhere West of the ‘divvy’ or ‘’deviation’ – if you’re unsure please contact us to discuss it). We are encouraging Arts as opposed to Arts ‘n Crafts to maintain the authenticity of our event.

We do need to put a cap on the amount of RAW artists to make the event pleasurable for our visitors and worthwhile for our artists  – so please ensure you register as soon as possible.

You can register as a standalone artist, a group or as part of The Hatch (our emerging artist exhibition in the Town Hall).

As a standalone artist, you will exhibit on your own in your chosen space. However, you can choose to exhibit alongside other artists. For example, there may be 3 or 4 standalone artists together in one space, but each will have their own listing in the brochure.

You can also register as a group. A group is a number of artists in one location, but you only get 1 listing in the brochure. This means the group itself is promoted, rather than the individual standalone artists.

You can also apply to be a part of The Hatch, which is our emerging artists exhibition. Application does not guarantee entry. See below for more details.

If you attended last year’s RAW, you will know what to expect!

In 2023, we introduced an Emerging Artists Exhibition, brought to you by Rangitahi, which housed 15 new artists. If you would like to be a part of this Exhibition in 2025, you will need to apply as only 15 will be selected. Please see the application form for more details on how an emerging artist is defined, and what you will need to apply – application form available April 2025.

Due to a new partnership with Bayleys, we also had an ‘Artist Connect’ bus tour to take artists around before RAW starts to visit a handful of other studios. This allows participants to see other artist spaces and meet fellow RAW artists and is a direct result of artist feedback.

Bayleys also part-sponsored a Cocktail Event after the bus tour to signal the kick off for RAW festivities!

Watch this space for more 2025 news!

No. You can host it in your studio, your house or a friend’s home, or you can hire one of the many spaces around Raglan. Last year, our artists used spaces including the Nau Mai Business Park, the Supper Room, St Peter’s Church Hall and Community House. There are a couple of spaces at the Old School that are available. Please contact them directly to discuss – info@raglanartscentre.co.nz

2025 fees are – entry for RAW standalone artists $250. Entry for RAW groups $450 for up to 5 artists plus $80 for each additional artist. Entry for The Hatch artists $90.

There are no additional fees or charges.

The fee increases now put us in line with – or cheaper than – other arts trails around the North Island.

This is an increase of $44 for individual artists and $5 for Hatch participants. The Group costs have increased $50 for smaller groups and they will have increased for large groups where the $80 for additional artists adds up. Thanks for bearing with us with these changes – we can now better support the costs of putting on the event.  RAW is a not-for-profit event and costs around $50,000 to put on.  Much of this money comes from sponsorship and grants, however in the current economic climate it is hard to secure funds.

We are encouraging each artist to register. You then get your own photograph of a representative artwork in the brochure, and your own listing on the web site. It also then shows multiple artists at one location on the brochure map, which visitors are drawn to.

But there are options for groups to enter too. In this case, you get a single brochure listing. This option is very well suited to already formed groups, such as The Raglan Life Drawing group, as you are promoted as a single entity. It is obviously more cost effective for the group members too.

Yes please, we would love to talk to you about what works best. It’s important to note that the brochure – called ‘The Raglan Arts Guide’ is far more than a map for RAW – it is a year-round resource to Arts in Raglan. We print 5000 to 6000 copies and they are distributed all around North Island to i-sites, art galleries, design stores, framers, appropriate coffee shops etc. We believe it’s an ideal opportunity to position your gallery or store. We also have our website.

To be in this brochure, we have a range of sponsorship and advertising options to suit all budgets, ranging from $200 to $1000. We’re also looking for other types of sponsors, for example for our artist signage.

Complete and sign the registration form online on the 24 March and pay the registration fee of $250 incl. GST and fees. Registration closes 13 April 2025 unless we receive our limit on art participants beforehand. We encourage you to register as close to the 24 March as possible.

For emerging artists, you have until 28 April to apply and then a group of 15 will be selected for the group exhibition. Please visit our emerging artist page to get the application form details when applications open.

For emerging artists, please have a look at the application form on the Emerging Artists section of our web site.

For standalone artists and grouped artists, you will need:

• A completed online Raglan Arts Weekend Registration form
• Payment (see above) at the time of registration and online
• A ‘one liner’ for the brochure less than 23 words.
• A high quality photo of your artwork for the brochure, in landscape format. This must be a close up and high quality for brochure printing. When you zoom in, it should not blur.
• A high quality photo of yourself – preferably in your studio or working in your medium – for the web site.
• You can also provide up to 2 additional high quality photos for the web site.
• Agree to submit a recent piece of your artwork, ready to hang or display, for the 3 week Arts Weekend Preview Exhibition.
• Agree to donate a piece of your art measuring 300mm x 300mm (x 300mm) for inclusion in the Arts Weekend Preview Exhibition. All 300 x 300 pieces will be for sale with all proceeds going to the Old School Arts Centre ‘Raglan Arts Weekend’ event. There is no theme for this donated artwork.  Unsold artworks will be retained by RAW and on sale throughout the year.
• Agree to ensure your studio or booth at the Old School is open and manned during the publicised times, so visitors do not make a wasted trip to your studio space.
• Provide a reasonable amount of work for sale during the Open Studio Weekend, including new work.
• Help market our/your event using your own networks.

Please see the Preview Exhibition FAQ.

• You will be part of Raglan’s annual premiere arts event, which is now a firm booking in the national arts calendar.
• A listing in the new Raglan Arts Guide – a year-round resource for all visitors to Raglan – with your address, contact details, art medium and website.
• A listing on the website with photographs, contact details, art medium, biography and links to your own website or social media pages.
• Your studio will also be marked on the official trail map, making it easy for visitors to plan their trip.
• Your artwork will also be promoted via the Preview Exhibition for 3 weeks prior to the event to Raglan visitors and will be marketed extensively online and in main arts / national newspapers.
• A donation towards staffing the gallery during the Preview Exhibition.
• Please note: we are a not-for-profit organisation and all monies raised go straight into running the RAW event

Every year, RAW continues to attract new and emerging art talent which we want to nurture and support as much as our resources allow us. We have senior Raglan artists who are committing time to help in this regard. These artist mentors can assist in 2 main areas:

a) Practical commodities (pricing, presentation, marketing, critique if requested, idea development)

b) The art of ideas (communicating a vision, working to a brief, thinking outside the box)

Let us know that you are interested, and we can put you in touch with an appropriate artist. It can be a simple one-off question to them or a meeting or a few phone calls, whatever you wish (within reason!).

We are sorry you won’t be able to join us. Cancellation fees will depend on where we are in production. If this is prior to our brochures going to print we may be able to remove your details from it, if the layout is easily changed. If we are able to do this we can refund your entry fee, less 50% to cover admin and graphic designer costs. If this occurs after the brochure has gone to print we are unable to remove your details or to refund you. Please contact the RAW co-ordinator, Nicky, if there is an unexpected emergency and you are not available to participate as soon as possible to discuss options.

A Preview Exhibition running for 3 weeks prior acts as an excellent marketing medium for the
event as a whole and for each individual artist. It will also act as the hub for the Open Studio
Weekend itself, where visitors can view and purchase the selected pieces and decide whom they
would like to visit.

There are two components to the Preview Exhibition:

• 1) 300×300
• 2) Main Exhibition (both artworks supplied will showcase each artist)

The 300 x 300 exhibition is a showcase for artists to have fun and get creative. However, there are certain criteria that need to be met for all donated 300 x 300 artworks:

• Size: 2 dimensional works are to be 300 x 300 mm (no smaller please); 3 dimensional pieces should fit within a 300 mm cube (approximately).
• Value: This is a donated piece of work. It will be displayed alongside your larger piece (for which the Old School receives 30% commission if sold). All money raised helps fund the Arts Weekend. Unsold pieces will remain at the Old School until sold.
• Quality: Your artwork should be of a high standard as the size is small. This piece
  represents your work to potential studio visitors. Please take the time to make an artwork you are proud to display.
• Ready to Display: Work must be ready to hang or display on a plinth. No wet paintings please. If your work is not accepted due to poor quality, an extra fee may apply. Some artists have taken many hours to produce their pieces. Time is not necessarily a factor in producing a desirable artwork, but due care is expected.
• Theme: There is no set theme for the 300×300 artworks

Each artist will donate a piece of artwork ready to hang or display on a plinth. All pieces will be for sale. All proceeds from sales of the 300 x 300 exhibition will go to the Raglan Arts Weekend budget for future development of the next Raglan Arts Weekend and Raglan Arts Guide. Any pieces remaining unsold at the end of the Arts Exhibition on 27th Oct remain the property of the Raglan Community Arts Council for the Raglan Arts Weekend.

When a 300×300 is sold, you will have the opportunity to replace it with another 300×300. This second 300×300 will not be donated: it will be sold on your behalf, less commission of 30%. If you would prefer not to replace the 300×300 with another, then this space will be offered to another artist. Bear in mind though that this will mean you will only have one artwork remaining to represent your studio.

There is no theme this year for the Preview Exhibition. It needs to be 900cm x 900cm or smaller. It must be a recent piece that has not been exhibited before – and one that is representative of the style and quality of your work. It is a way for visitors to decide if they would like to see more at your studio!

When an artwork is sold, you will have the opportunity to replace the artwork with another artwork to be sold. If you would prefer not to replace the artwork with another, then this space will be offered to another artist. Bear in mind though that this will mean you will only have the 300×300 to represent your studio.

The Old School fee is a 30% commission on any sales of artwork in the Main Exhibition at the Preview Exhibition.

Yes – as long as it is recent and is a good reflection of your work and ties into the theme if applicable.

Yes. Your piece must be a maximum height of 900cm and a maximum width of 900cm. We have made this 10cm smaller to accommodate more artists into our small gallery room.

We need to be able to display two artworks for each artist (300×300 + another artwork no bigger than 90cm x 90cm) and we’d like the artworks to have as much space as possible to ‘breathe’. We ask that you please consider other artists in the development of your pieces. We have more artists than ever before for this Arts Weekend and so unfortunately, we can’t have any exceptions to this. We did this for the first time in 2019 and it worked.

Not unless you feel it is a necessary part of the display. We have a range of plinths for the display of artwork or will contact you if we do not think we have a suitable option.

This should be set at a similar price to what you will be selling similar pieces for at your Open Studio over the Arts Weekend – we are charging a 30% commission. Please do not undercut the price of the exhibition piece with similar work at your studio. If you are a galleried artist, it is advisable not to undercut gallery prices by too much either, unless you have discussed this with your representative gallery.

We have a wonderful community and we also have a number of senior artist mentors who have kindly agreed to help other artists on a range of topics. Talk to Nicky, the arts weekend co-ordinator, and she can put you in touch. You don’t have to pay, and you don’t have to commit to any length of time – it can be as simple as a question.

The Old School Arts Centre has security systems and procedures in place. In line with standard gallery practice, you should arrange your own insurance cover for your own artwork if you require it.

In your registration, you need to supply a photo of yourself, at least one artwork photo and a biography which will be on the web site for people to see.

Drop-off period is Monday 29th September from 10am to 2pm.

Each piece should be ready for display or hanging – so hooks and cord on wall hangings please! When you register, we will send you full details of what to include – namely your name, art medium, artwork title and description and price. Please also ensure it is well packaged, as this will be needed for when it sells.

All artists will be notified of sales of their artwork when they’re sold and paid for. Some 300x300s will remain on display until the end of the Arts Weekend. If they are given to the buyer, you will be asked if you’d like a replacement piece instead (similarly sized, not donated but with 30% commission). If you would prefer not to provide a replacement piece, this option will be given to another artist.

All unsold Exhibition pieces will need to be collected from the Old School by the Wed 29th October 2025 at 2pm. You can collect it on Tues 28th and Wed 29th between 10am and 2pm.

All payments for exhibition sales will be made to the Old School Arts Centre. After the 30% commission is deducted the final amount will be paid to the artist by direct credit, as soon as possible – usually within 5 working days.

Yes please! The more artists that volunteer = less admin hours required by the Old School Arts Centre = more $$ for the future continuation of the Raglan Arts Weekend. We need help with hanging signs up, brochure dropping, packaging mailouts, organising the flags, staffing the exhibition etc. Please contact us to find out how you can help.

You have paid towards a person to help to manage the Preview Exhibition over the 3 week period leading up to the end of RAW 2025.  We really need additional help in volunteering, so please speak to us if you can help us out. We can help promote you in our marketing materials as a thank you!