The Queenstown Art Society - 60 years in the making.

The Queenstown Art Society grew out of the success of the Whakatipu district’s centennial art exhibition in November 1962, which showed more than 100 paintings by 22 artists plus a selection of pottery and craft in the Lake County Council Board room on the corner of Stanley and Ballarat Streets in central Queenstown. From that time on, the annual exhibition was held at a number of different venues, including the Society’s own Arts Centre in the former Wakatipu High School Building in Stanley Street from its establishment in 1981 until 2021

The Society became affiliated with the Association of NZ Arts Societies in 1977 with a membership of 87, a third of which were working artists. Throughout its history QAS has supported the growth of arts and crafts in the Whakatipu region through exhibitions, art workshops, artists’ mentorship and support, community outreach programmes and by providing artists’ studios at the Queenstown Arts Centre until the closure of the Stanley Street building and its subsequent move to Te Atamira, Remarkables Park, Frankton in April 2022. Where the Society continues to champion the visual arts and creative practice.

On May 16 2022 QAS held its first exhibition at Te Atamira and in July that same year opened a new small viewing gallery Toi Tahi at the same venue.