Fresh Gallery Otara is celebrating its first birthday this month with a multimedia exhibition.

The works selected for Fresh Gallery Otara Turns 1! reflect relevant issues in the community: the importance of family, nationhood and ancestral connections; the influence of emerging cultures and the adaptive nature of Pacific communities. Fresh Gallery Otara is celebrating its first birthday this month with a multimedia exhibition.

The works selected for Fresh Gallery Otara Turns 1! reflect relevant issues in the community: the importance of family, nationhood and ancestral connections; the influence of emerging cultures and the adaptive nature of Pacific communities.In May 2006, the gallery, located in a renovated shop in Otara, opened as a new facility of Manukau City Council working in partnership with the Otara Economic Development Trust.

Pacific Arts Coordinator Ema Tavola, herself an artist and curator, is based at the gallery and has developed its profile in a very location-specific way.

"The aim has always been for exhibitions at FGO to speak primarily to our main audience, which is Otara and Manukau," she says.

"I've focused on promoting the work of local artists and graduates and students from the Manukau School of Visual Arts. Also important has been bringing contemporary Pacific art to the Otara community and we've also had international work that has come out of Otara-based projects."

The success of the gallery can be measured not only in the variety and popularity of its exhibitions but also by the fact that FGO has made good sales and generated welcome income for local artists.

Artists whose work is featured in the exhibition include Steven Ball, Mere Clifford, Angela Gribbon, Troy Jackson, Leilani Kake, Sean Kerrigan, Danielle Meredith, Samiu Napa'a, Luse Nemani, Genevieve Pini, Jacob Su'a, Glenda Vilisoni and Vanessa Wynyard.

Guest international artists Juan Castillo (Chile) and Amy Plant (UK) will be represented by works from their Otara-based projects developed through the Manukau School of Visual Arts.

When: 17 May - 9 June 2007
Where: Fresh Gallery Otara, Otara Town Centre, Manukau