Artist's Books exhibition - CALL FOR ENTRIES!

 

I'm delighted and honoured, and, I have to admit a little intimidated (!), to have been invited to be the juror for this exciting exhibition of artist's books next July.

I completed a 6 week artist's residency and solo exhibition at "from out of the blue studio gallery" in Nov/Dec 2023. It was such an incredible time for me, both personally and for my arts practice, and so I'm excited at the prospect of returning to reconnect with this very special gallery and creative community.

From out of the Blue Studio Gallery

18 Halse Place, Ōpunakē, New Zealand.

Located on the coast of South Taranaki, New Zealand, 
from out of the blue studio gallery 
is a space devoted to all things fibre and fabric 

including a love of artist's books!

The studio gallery is a dream come true for the gallerist/artist Viv Davy.

Visit the gallery website to find out all about this creative space 

and nurturing community including current and upcoming exhibitions, artists,

workshops, onsite artist residency programme, and current calls for entries.

Please visit the gallery website CALL FOR ENTRIES  page 

for FULL specifications for "Boundless"

and the link to the ONLINE ENTRY form 

which includes FAQ and more details.

Any enquiries please email Viv Davy: 

viv@fromoutofthebluestudiogallery.com

"Boundless" 

An exhibition that aims to explore the free interpretation of the book format through artists’ books. The focus is on artistic exploration and innovation.

2nd July - 10th August, 2026

There is no theme for this exhibition.

See the website for full details.

Entries are NOW OPEN to artists both in Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas.

Each artist may submit up to 2 works.

There is a $20.00NZ entry fee per submission.

There is no limit to the format of your artist’s book. It must be ready to hang or to display on a plinth/ table/ shelf.

Entries must have been made within the last 2 years from date of submission. i.e. between April 2024 – April 2026

Entries may have been exhibited before BUT the entry can’t have won any awards or prizes previously.

The Juror will select the winner of the Most Engaging Work Prize and the Highly Commended Prize from the actual pieces in the gallery space. 

Prizes:

Juror’s Choice for Most Engaging Work Prize: $500.00nz
Juror’s Choice for Highly Commended Prize: $250.00nz
People’s Choice Prize awarded at the close of the exhibition valued at $250.00nz.

Timeline for Entries:

Close of digital Submissions:            April 30th 2026

Shipping deadline:                             June 10th 2026                
Winners will be notified:                   Friday 26th June 2026  
Exhibition will be open to public:     Thursday 2nd July 2026
Opening Event with Juror’s Speech: Sunday 5th July from 2pm
Final day of Boundless:                     Monday 10th August 2026

For all enquiries: 

Please visit the gallery website CALL FOR ENTRIES  page 

for FULL specifications 

and the link to the ONLINE ENTRY form 

which includes FAQ and more details.

Any enquiries please email Viv Davy: 

viv@fromoutofthebluestudiogallery.com

 

This is such an exciting opportunity 

as there are few opportunities to participate in exhibitions 

primarily for artist's books here in NZ.

Artist's books have flown under the radar here for far too long 

so it's fantastic to see more opportunities, like this, for this expressive 

and dynamic art form to be showcased, 

shared and celebrated more widely.

But wait! I hear you wondering 
“what IS an artist’s book?”

An artist’s book may be considered as “a medium of artistic expression inspired by the FORM or FUNCTION of a “book” to express ideas, concepts or a narrative.”

The FORM of a book includes the attributes that 

make a book a book in a conventional sense:

It may have a cover, a title, pages, chapters, verses, a blurb, characters, a story…

The FUNCTION of a book includes its PURPOSE or INTENT:

To tell a story, record or document, collate, collect, describe, express ideas or concepts, educate, inform…

Therefore an artist’s book may or may not look like a book in a conventional sense.

This exhibition invites you to push the boundaries of what an artist’s book could possibly be. We would like to see makers ‘blow the idea of a ‘book’ apart. 

This is not an exhibition focused on bookbinding. Rather, the content or concept of the structure is a vital element.

I do hope you'll 

consider participating!

Please share this information with 

friends, family, artists, makers and creators of all ilk, 

near and far!

Link to share!

https://tonihartillart.blogspot.com/2025/10/artists-books-exhibition-call-for.html

Thanks for visiting!

WAYMARKERS ~ Into the Unknown, Solo Exhibition, 2023

GALLERY TOUR

 Welcome to a tour of my solo exhibition

WAYMARKERS ~ Into the Unknown

which was held at

From Out of the Blue Studio Gallery, 

Opunake, Taranaki, New Zealand 

9 November - 17 December 2023.

This post is a tour of the gallery layout and presentation of the four distinct collections of works within the exhibition. Future posts will document each of the individual works within each collection. 

With more than 80 individual pieces in the exhibition, which I had been working on for more than 18 months, it was quite something to finally see it all come together in a cohesive show. 

To view the images as a slideshow, simply click on an image 

and it will enlarge on your screen. You can then scroll through the images.

Six Week Residency

I spent an amazing 6 weeks in residence during my exhibition, hosted by artist and gallery owner Viv Davy. It was an incredible opportunity to be able to completely immerse myself in my artmaking, away from the usual distractions of  home and family with ample opportunity to explore and create as inspiration struck.

I could never have foreseen the indelible mark this experience would leave on me.

I will share some reflections of my experience, and of the work I created, in future posts as I begin to unpick and document my time in Taranaki.

Artist Statement, Nov 2023:

W A Y M A R K E R S 

Waymark:

N (Navigation) a symbol or signpost marking the route of a footpath

Presented with the opportunity to visit a place I had never before visited, I was immediately inspired to explore my sense of belonging to the landscape, and in particular, to this land, Aotearoa.

Through richly layered mark making, I considered the way that marks are left on the landscape through the history of a place. As my work evolved I was repeatedly reminded of the way that the landscape, in fact, leaves its mark on me, especially in a visceral, deeply instinctive way.

I sensed that this opportunity, of both a solo exhibition and residency, had the potential to be a WAYMARKER in my arts practice, perhaps a MARKER of a new chapter in my development as an artist. Having the time and space to work on my art, away from my everyday life, could make way for new ideas and ways of working to emerge.

 

Through the course of creating and collating this collection of works, I came to think of WAYMAKERS as being not just specific, tactile objects but also as ephemeral experiences, senses or memories that we collect and hold on to. It also got me thinking about what WAYMARKERS could be and about the many ways that specific things in our lives – people, places, events or experiences - could be marked or remembered, by found or created objects or mementoes,. 

How often do we pick up a pebble, a scrap of driftwood… a curiosity that catches our eye? We pocket it, take it home and add it to our “collection of treasures.” And, so often, these objects will reignite the memories of that time, that place, those people you were with, and perhaps more vividly than a photograph.

 

Individual pieces within the exhibition mark new discoveries and directions in my work as I explore and am inspired by materials, structures and forms, objects, places and ideas, often diverting off into many new and unexpected dimensions.

I relish the adventure of never really knowing quite where an idea might take me and what I might discover on the way – into the unknown.

Toni Hartill

WAYMARKERS Walk-through

as seen on my YouTube channel Toni Hartill Art

WAYMARKERS as seen at

From Out of the Blue Studio Gallery

"WAYMARKERS" Collection

"Sensing Belonging" Collection

Coastal inspired collection

Natural environment inspired collection

Upstairs in the studio

Published info

The sandwich board outside the gallery

From out of the Blue Studio Gallery
18 Halse Place, Opunake

Gallery hours: Thurs - Mon 1 - 5pm
or by appointment

Ph 021 407 424

viv@blacknosugar.com

Thanks for visiting!