Arts Council
Nelson

At Arts Council Nelson, our mission is to promote, initiate and support projects ​and activities that stimulate and strengthen the​ artistic and cultural life of our communities.

About us

YOUR LOCAL ART CONNECTOR

We work with individuals and organisations across our region to facilitate all kinds of creative opportunities.

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What’s on at Refinery ArtSpace

REFINERY ARTSPACE

Changing Threads

Contemporary Fibre Textile Art Award Finalist Exhibition

Changing Threads is a Aotearoa’s premier annual National Contemporary Textile and Fibre Art Awards and exhibition held in Nelson, New Zealand. Presented by Arts Council Nelson and hosted at the Refinery ArtSpace, it showcases New Zealand's leading artists who push the boundaries of traditional fibre and textile practices

On until July 18th

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Refinery ArtSpace

Refinery ArtSpace is committed to stimulating and strengthening the artistic and cultural life of Whakatu, supporting a diverse programme of engaging community-driven and/or contemporary exhibitions, projects and events.

Comprising three adaptable gallery spaces and two large workshop facilities, Refinery ArtSpace is also the home to the Arts Council Nelson Team.

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What We Do

Nelson Clay Week

Ceramists from across Aotearoa come together to learn, teach, build new connections and celebrate all things clay in a biannual festival.

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Nelson Jewellery Week

A biannual celebration of contemporary jewellery in Aotearoa, for makers, wearers, and viewers.

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Changing Threads

The annual National Contemporary Textile Fibre Art Awards, celebrating artists who stretch the boundaries of fibre and textile art.

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Community Arts

We support and promote community arts opportunities across the Te Tauihu region, including administering funding and offering advice.

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Make It Nelson

Make It Nelson is a curated programme of hands-on workshops running throughout June 2026 in Whakatū Nelson.

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Arts Development Agency

We are transitioning to a future-focused development agency to better support the region.

Learn more

What’s On

We feature creative events, exhibitions, opportunities, and 
more happening in Te Tauihu, Top of the South.

Want to submit your own listing? Fill out the form here!

UPCOMING EVENTS
Featured
Love Letters to Bridge St - Call to action....
May 13
Love Letters to Bridge St - Call to action....
Otago Arts Fellowships
May 20
Otago Arts Fellowships
Community Events Funding
May 20
Community Events Funding
Wall to Wall Gallery
May 26
Wall to Wall Gallery
Nelson Fringe Board of Trustees invite
May 26
Nelson Fringe Board of Trustees invite
NSAS Portrait Exhibition
May 27
NSAS Portrait Exhibition
SEE MORE

Social Media

2024 was a glorious year, and because we took a break in 2025, it's the penultimate exhibition before 2026. So here endeth the looking-back on Changing Threads through the years, and that was just the word winners - imagine the hundreds of other work
2023 - just three years ago! And as this post is being written, the judges are in the final throes of judging the 2026 exhibition... The award winners for 2023 were: - Kate Sellar (Whanganui), Stains of Time - Supreme Award jointly sponsored by Nels
It's 2022, and Changing Threads is now the most visited exhibition at Refinery ArtSpace. "It’s testament to how textiles have such a broad appeal, and their power to encompass stories and commentary, as well as the sheer beauty of techni
In the 2021 catalogue, Creative Director Ronnie Martin wrote, “This is the eleventh year we’ve held the Changing Threads Exhibition and Award, and every year we’re enthralled by the works that are entered. The innovation, mastery, c
No one could know that 2019 would be the last Changing Threads in the exhibition space in Halifax St - it served us well! And then, due to covid, we would have to skip a year in 2020. The glorious award winners in 2019 were: - Chloe Rose Taylor, Dee
2018, and Changing Threads is going strong. The award winners are: - Christine Wingels, 3000 Metres of Thought, Bernina NZ Award for the most creative entry using a sewing machine - Lane Hawkins, M170, The Creative Journeys Award for a work demonstr
Now that the awards have been going for nine years, there are a few names that are popping as award winners up for a second or for Lynn Price, a third award. And this year for the first time, Deborah Walsh won two awards in the same year. Here are t
Drum roll for Changing Threads 2016, and we're running of time before the 2026 exhibition opens this weekend, so these posts are going to start coming through a bit faster! The awards winners were: - Kate Ireland, The Price of Love - Crissie Cleary,
2015 Changing Threads (still in the old Refinery building in Halifax St). "Over the past few years the Changing Threads Contemporary Art Awards show has surged forward from our initial vision to now being one of the most prestigious events of i
It's 2014 and we have five award winners (including Lynn Price, who is also a finalist for 2026). - Vicki Smith, Under her skin - Sarah Pumphrey, Toi tu te whenua - Lynn Price, One Side of the Story - Kate Sellar, Rhizome 1 - Rosie White, Altar Clot

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