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is te xt     20 March - 23 May 2010 Gallipoli – Paintings by Bob Kerr. Paintings based around the Gallipoli Diary of Alfred Cameron.                            BOTTLE CREEK GALLERY  BLUE PACIFIC GALLERY Exhibition from 26 March- 7 April You are invited to chat to, or just observe, our PRINT AND PAPER MAKERS FROM THE SOLOMON ISLANDS as they demonstrate their skills in the Blue Pacific gallery     Four internationally acclaimed print and paper makers from the Solomon Islands will demonstrate their skills throughout their exhibition from 24 March to 7 April. The days they will working with public workshops and demonstrations are Friday 26 March, Sunday 28 March, Wednesday 31 March, Thursday 1 April, Sunday 4 April through to Wednesday 7 April. Their public workshops will also include demonstrations for all levels - school groups, Whitireia Polytech trainees and other New Zealand print and paper makers. Michel Tuffery (now among New Zealands foremost artists) visited the Solomons in 1994 to help teach the villagers how to make woodblocks and how to print. Solomon Island artist Joe Lindsay also helped with the introduction to the islands of screen printing. In 1996, Michel Tuffery returned with others to assist and upskill local artists, many of whom were already highly skilled wood carvers. The shift from three dimensional carving to paper and print making soon revealed some outstanding artists. One art style that is now famous far beyond the Solomon Islands is the use of a montage of traditional totem-like fish, bird and animal designs now known as Spirit of Solomons. The workshops at Pataka Museum have been sponsored through a travel grant from Creative New Zealand, while the accommodation and local expenses are to be provided independently through various friends of the Solomon Islands in Porirua. Pictured: Ralph Ako A brief bachground on the aid of these artists working in the Solomon Islands. In 1994 New Zealand official assistance (NZODA) launched a pilot project in Balai in Malaita province. Working with the volunteer Solomon Island Development Trust, the project sought to provide villagers with alternative revenue generating projects as alternatives to the selling of their prime forests to Asian logging companies.   10 April - 9 May Nestor Opetaia