Who We Are

The current 20198/2020 Executive Committee
Barbara Franklet (Community)
Faye Wulff     (Community) [Ngai Tahu, Kati Mamoe]
Anne Pokel   (Community)
Josephine Cachemaille (Community)
Amanda Raine   (Community)
John Du Four (Community)
Gill Starling (Community)
Kay van Dyk (Community)
Sophie Kelly   (Community)
Emma Barnes-Wetere (Community/Youth Representative)

(Nelson City Council Liaison) Mayor Rachel Reese

ACN Staff
Lloyd Harwood (Community Arts Manager)
Heidi Lucas (Administrator)
Janja Heathfield    (Refinery ArtSpace Manager)

Arts Council Nelson History
Nearly 40 years ago the predecessor of the current Arts Council Nelson was founded. A small number of enthused Nelsonians produced a potpourri of cultural entertainment called the Nelson Event including Jazz, films, poetry, folk, singing and visual art exhibitions. The same group joined with others in setting up the Nelson Provincial Arts Council.

People involved in these early days were Chris Hay, Eelco Boswijk, Geoff Heath, Dave Andrews and Sonya Davies.

In 1969 the Nelson Provincial Arts Council (NPAC) was founded, with the following founding objective:
“To encourage, promote and coordinate the study, practice and enjoyment of the arts in the province of Nelson and to promote and encourage the public awareness of their existence, their function and their value in the community.”

Nelson continued to be at the forefront of developing the arts:

The Nelson City Council was the first local authority to allocate 0.7 %
of general rates to the arts – the NPAC was nominated to administer these funds

In 1976 the first Nelson Arts Festival took place; grants to over $22,000 were allocated to assist touring performances in Nelson. The cultural calendar in the Nelson Mail changes from monthly to weekly.

The 1980s saw another new direction for ACN under the guidance of Chairperson John Wheeler. Working virtually full-time in a voluntary capacity, John encouraged the organisation to take on paid staff. In 1982 paid staffing became available on a permanent basis with the appointment of Claudia Reid as the first Community Arts Officer.

Paid staffing signalled a marked change in the nature of the organisation, as it greatly expanded the scope and range of activities the Arts Council could undertake. As a consequence seeds were sown and projects nurtured which facilitated the growth of Nelson into the prime arts and cultural destination it has now become. The benefits of the full-time appointment have been maintained through the following personnel until the present day.
Claudia Reid (1982 - 83)
Jennifer Brett (1983 - 84)
Robbie Burton (1984 - 90)
Trix Dyer (1990 - 1996)
Mags Meechang (1996 - 1998)
Lloyd Harwood (1998 - present)

Barbara Franklet - Chairperson.
I have been a member of ACN since 2016. For 20 years I have worked as a commercial artist and currently work with the arts and mental health. Originally from Texas,
I opened Mockingbird Studio in 2008 when
I moved to Nelson. It‘s a pleasure to serve Nelson’s art scene - a robust community that keeps getting better.

Anne Pokel

I’m a recent member of ACN and excited to dive into Nelson’s arts and culture scene. Originally from Germany and with a background in Art History and Cultural Studies, I’ve lived in Auckland for the last 9 years and have held a range of different positions in the creative sector, most recently with the James Wallace Arts Trust. My husband, our 2 boys and I are very much enjoying the creative spirit here in Nelson, and I look forward to contributing my energy and skills to the arts community.

Sophie Kelly

I am a fresh to the ACN board and excited to be joining such a dynamic team of trustees. I have an extensive background in the performing arts sector having worked on the Nelson Arts Festival and summer programme events for Nelson City Council for ten years. I now work freelance curating and directing a Arts Festival for the Bay of Islands region and I am also the Project Manager of the biennial Light Nelson event. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my skills and contribute to the artistic community and creative spirit of Nelson.

Faye Wullf
Having worked in the community arts field
for the past twenty years, I hope to build
upon the connections between ACN and
the wider community. I gained a visual arts diploma from NMIT and for the past
eighteen years I have run Community Artworks, an accessible creative arts space
n central Nelson.

Kay van Dyk.
I came to the trust in 2018 and am thrilled to be part of a group of like-minded people who bring a broad range of skills to Arts Council Nelson. I have a background in jewellery and object making and have exhibited throughout NZ and overseas. I work at NMIT as the Object Design tutor, supporting students throughout their study in the field of 3-dimensional making. I have also recently begun to teach at a Nelson youth arts programme.

Tanya Nock
It is an honour to be part of Nelson’s Arts Council. I studied a BA Hons in Music at Dartington College of Arts in Devon UK where I specialized in ethnomusicology and composition. It was at Dartington that the UK’s first Arts Council was conceived in 1925. I then continued at Exeter University with a Post Grad. In Education.
I moved to Nelson in 2004 and have a passion for building communities through the arts. I am part the Nelson Arts Festival Masked Parade and Carnival team and the Education Coordinator at Nelson Centre of Musical Arts.
I am currently Directing the new to town Voice Collective and have been teaching the violin and Nelson Central School Choir for the past 14 years.
My passion is to inspire and encourage as many people possible to bring music into their lives.

Josephine Cachemaille.

I am a visual artist making installations, paintings and sculptures. I have a
background in community development
and event management, and have worked full-time as an artist for 15 years.
I have been a member of ACN since 2017
and am focused on developing
opportunities in our community to
encourage and support artists.
I live in Nelson with my husband, writer
Grant Smithies, and our daughter Rosa.
I also work for Red Gallery and run a record shop, “ The Family Jewels”, with Grant.

Amanda Raine

I'm a very new member of ACN. My background is in theatre, education and festivals, and I currently have the great pleasure of working on the Nelson Arts Festival. After growing up on a farm near Nelson, I spent 30 years in other parts of Aotearoa and the world, before returning
to Nelson for the Arts Festival job in 2014.
I'm loving being back in our beautiful part
of the world, and hope I can contribute
to the vibrancy of our community and
help foster relationships and
opportunities for performing arts in Nelson

Gill Starling - Treasurer
I came to art relatively late in life after
a career in Social Work. But I'd always
loved visiting galleries and being involved
in cultural events. Along with my partner I now own a picture framing business and
a dealer gallery in Nelson.
I believe that art has a vital role in making
our lives richer and our communities
more connected.

John Du Four
I was elected to the ACN Executive late
in 2018. I've lived in Nelson since 2014
when my wife and I moved up from Christchurch. My professional background is designer, writer and creative director in advertising, working across all media. I have produced work and enjoyed success in a variety of creative undertakings including: painting, ceramics, music, short film, theatre and fiction writing. I am the Arts writer for WildTomato magazine and also write for a Nelson PR company. I've previously benefited from local arts funding both in Canterbury and in Nelson Tasman, and hold a strong belief in the importance of arts to the wider community.

Arts Council Nelson

Arts Council Nelson
114, Hardy St, Nelson
PO Box 566, Nelson. 7040
Community Arts Manager: Lloyd Harwood
or ACN Administrator: Heidi Lucas
P: +64 (3) 548 4640
E: artscouncilnsn@gmail.com
Lloyd Harwood Mob: 027 326 9166

2017 Arts Council Nelson

Who we are