Absolutely positively Alpha Art Studio

14 February 2011
Alpha Art Studio and Gallery in Wellington buzzes with activity. Located in the creative core of the CBD, its walls overflow with artwork, and the people appear happy and friendly.

Like many creative spaces, Alpha Art Studio has constraints: money, time, resources and people. Co-ordinator Emma Cullen and fulltime support worker Joanne Ridley run the space with all of the skill, determination, passion and efficiency of a team of people.

The programmes are developed from the ideas of both the artists and the support workers.

“The projects and programmes are driven by what ideas come out of the monthly studio meetings and from the artists’ individual personal plans,” Emma says. “We do our very best to support the direction they want to go in.

“What makes Alpha such a cool place to work is the artists, who set the tone. It’s a great atmosphere where people can come and explore their interest in art but also have fun and socialise.”

The activities range from drawing and painting to weaving, collage and sculpture. There are some secondary activities like swimming and computer classes.

Emma is helping Jeff, make a short film featuring some of his favourite subjects: cranes, trains and planes. This individual attention amidst a busy schedule is just one of many elements that makes the studio special.

Of the 28 artists at Alpha Art Studio, several of them have been attending since its inception in 1996. The studio originated as the Jessie Street Art Studio and changed its name when it moved in 1999.

Emma studied film, media and design at Otago University, where she first started working part-time as a residential support worker while studying. Heading north to Wellington, she took up the opportunity to work at Alpha Art Studio in early 2010.

Developing work to professional level

She is genuinely interested in her role: fostering the clients’ creative interests, and helping them develop their work to a professional level and become artists – exhibiting, promoting and selling their work, and entering competitions.

Joanne holds a fine arts degree majoring in sculpture and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching.

The studio incorporates a gallery and holds public exhibitions. “The neat thing about how we’re set up is that first of all, we have a gallery on site, but also it’s open in a way where the public can come and view the work displayed in the gallery, and at the same time see the artists at work,” Joanne says.


Artists receive 50 per cent of proceeds on work sold. The other half purchases much-needed resources and materials.

Alpha Art Studio holds an annual group exhibition at Thistle Hall. This year’s exhibition is titled It Came From Outsider Space!, inspired by one of the artists’ rendering of aliens in her work. There are two to three more in-house exhibitions held every year.

The artists regularly enter the IHC Telecom Art Awards and the New Zealand Art Show, with much success. Two of Alpha’s dedicated artists, Ashok Bava and Martin Kerschbaumer, were finalists in the IHC Telecom Art Awards in 2010.

“I want to develop more individual exhibitions in Wellington cafes, as well as encourage our artists to enter work into other community group exhibitions,” Emma says.

“Our challenges right now are continuing to offer the programmes the clients are interested in; finding the time, skill set and resources to do this; and trying to attract more school leavers to attend our space.”

For more information:
Emma Cullen, Co-ordinator
Alpha Art Studio
3-5 Alpha St, WGTN
T: 04 385 6428
E: