Southland is a region very dear to artist Janet de Wagt’s heart. For more than 25 years she has been returning here to capture the many faces of our southern landscape in paint. For the past 18 months Janet has been visiting both well-known and isolated sites within the region, painting the Mataura River and Southland coastline in all its moods. The resulting body of work will take you on a journey from the headwaters of the Mataura River, to Fortrose where it meets the sea, and along the southern coast to Awarua.

 

Born and raised in Mid Canterbury, Janet has been working full-time as an artist for the past 30 years, balancing a successful painting profile with a vigorous community-based role as an art project facilitator. She has participated in a variety of exhibition projects, including group and solo shows, and is equally well-known for her popular and stimulating workshop programmes.  A major community project undertaken in 2013 was the Mataura River Art Project involving all the primary schools along the Mataura River. The resulting exhibition featured over 600 unique and distinctive art pieces chronicling the changing relationship of people with the Mataura River.