Pilot gallery wants to fly higher
Hamilton Pilot galley raised roughly $2500 from selling work local artists donated to help keep the independent gallery going.
Hamilton visual artists sold around $2500 worth of artwork to help keep the independent Pilot gallery alive.
Photographs, paintings, and sculptures gifted by local creatives to the Pilot on Ward Street, were priced from $100 to $200 at the fundraiser on June 2.
Independent art project space Pilot was started in March last year by local artist Karl Bayly, who now runs it alone.
Bayly, 26, said it was his idea to organise a fundraiser.
“I’ve realized we need a lot more money from what we are currently making to keep the Pilot going. Otherwise we’ll just have to shut down.”
Bayly said the main finance to drive the Pilot is the sublease money from the studios upstairs of the gallery.
“I personally have no more money that I can give to it [Pilot]. So it just depends on funding and how many studios we can rent out.”
The aim of the fundraiser was to raise $3500, but even with a $1000 less than the set goal, it is still “fantastic”, Bayly said.
“It’s been amazing. The amount of artwork that’s been gifted to us really shows that artists really support what is going on.”
The raised money will help to keep the independent gallery running till the end of this year.
One of the most valued buyers was the James Wallace Arts Trust from Auckland. A couple of paintings were sold to the trust collection, which has about 8000 contemporary New Zealand artworks.
Bayly thinks the fundraiser went quite well.
“I think people liked it, because they can just come in and buy a $100 artwork to chuck in their lounge, meet some new people and have fun.”
