Arts On Retreat

From time to time, you’ll encounter artists like Michael Smither, Don Binney, Wayne Seyb or Claire Beynon quietly drawing or writing from the balcony or a secluded corner of the gardens, or simply relaxing to restore their creative energy and impulse. We offer this opportunity to the artists represented by The Diversion Gallery, as a way of giving something back and contributing to New Zealand’s creative history. The Portage asks nothing of them in return, only that they treat it as a place to relax and revive.

However, like our other visitors, they are inevitably inspired by the extraordinary place they find themselves in, and this has led to new series of works capturing the moods and mystique of the Kenepuru Sound, and perhaps a sense of its history and artistic legacy.

One of our visiting artists, Richard Adams, is also a well-known jazz musician with The Nairobi Trio. Most years he and one of the trio perform a lively jazz cabaret on their way through Marlborough.