Arts Centre seeks new members

Press, 29 May 1985, Page 20

Arts Centre seeks new members

The Christchurch Arts Centre has begun a drive for membership that it hopes will net it 5000 members.

At present the centre has a membership of 700. If it could get 5000 members, it would have a guaranteed income of about $60,000, said the promotions director, Chris Doig. Since Mr Doig’s arrival at the Arts Centre last year, a member of special projects have been begun. An increased membership was essential to continue those projects and to start new ones, Mr Doig said. The projects included the

opening of a Maori carving centre, Rikirangi, and the re-development of the centre’s crafts workshop. New crafts added to the centre include a glass painter, a woodturner, a rug studio, a photographic studio, leather workers, a willow basket maker, film studio, a bone carver, a jeweller, a print maker and fabric dyer. Several building extensions are planned for parts of the Arts Centre.

The Gingko Gallery, a print gallery and workshop, is being extended to enable the establishment of a lithographic workshop.

The Great Hall is being upgraded with a redesigned stage, improved lighting and heating, a ticketing facility and a new piano. A landscape plan has also been drawn up to allow the up-grading of the quadrangles so that they are more accessible and can be put to more use.

The Centre Gallery has been converted to an information centre with the aid of the Arts Centre Association. Signs around the centre are also being upgraded to make finding buildings in the complex easier.

Mr Doig said local businesses had provided spon-

sorship for the centre through support for specific projects. He hoped that the public of Christchurch would also support the centre by becoming members.

Different types of membership were available. They were family membership ($3O), individual ($l3), student and senior citizen ($8), and life membership ($250). Members were eligible for 10 per cent discounts on goods sold at businesses in the Arts Centre and discounts on tickets to the Court theatre, the Free Theatre, and the Academy Cinema.

There was also a discount for use of the Y.M.C.A. facilities in Hereford Street and a monthly newsletter of events in the Arts Centre. The Arts Centre site was a magnificent site and the Arts Centre unique in New Zealand, Mr Doig said. It had tremendous potential but for that to be realised the centre had to be seen to be developing and challenging the public with new ideas and events. To do this, and to expand, it needed local support