This November, NZ Sculpture OnShore returns to Operetu Fort Takapuna in Narrow Neck. The event, one of the largest outdoor sculpture exhibitions in the world and certainly the largest in New Zealand, is owned by Friends of Women’s Refuges Trust, and has raised funds for New Zealand Women’s Refuge since its inception in a private garden in 1995. Long-time Devonport resident Rachel Brebner is chair of Friends of  Women’s Refuges Trust, looking forward to her fourth NZ Sculpture OnShore (NZSOS) exhibition in the role. Christine Young talked to her about her involvement, and about this year’s exhibition.

Rachel’s involvement with Friends of Women’s Refuges Trust began over a decade ago after she was invited to help out at NZSOS as a volunteer. A year later she joined the trust, using her skills as a gallerist to look after the curation and merchandising of  the popular indoor gallery. “I barged in,’ she laughs, “and took that on about four exhibitions ago.”

She was well qualified to do so, as an artist who had worked in galleries for several decades, both here and overseas. Though not trained as an artist, she just “fell into working in galleries”, she says. She curates exhibitions for other people, creates commission-based large works, both sculptural and painted, and has implemented commercial fit-outs, recently designing and project-leading the fitout of the new Hospice store in Westgate. In what seems a somewhat retrospective move, she is now  studying interior design.

But this year, much of Rachel’s time is focused on NZSOS. Like the rest of the trustees and the members of the board of NZSOS (which operates as a charitable company), Rachel is a volunteer, one of many who work to ensure its success.

Despite the time commitment, Rachel remains enthused by common sense of purpose and harmony within the trust. “I came into it because of the art and have been sustained throughout by the teamwork…. It’s such a happy place for me.” Each trustee has specific responsibility for a particular aspect of the exhibition. As chair, Rachel oversees that. “They have skills I don’t. I know what their strengths are; they are all accountable for their own role…. That’s what I love about it; it’s such a good team.”

Trust meetings are held every two months in the year between exhibitions, and step up to monthly and then two-weekly during exhibition year. Meetings are “purely functional”, says Rachel; a time when each trustee provides updates on their area of responsibility. Most of the considerable time commitment for each of the trustees occurs between meetings, and starts in the year prior to the exhibition. Fi White, deputy chair on the trust, who also looks after the schools’ exhibition, makes the initial callout to schools in October regarding their involvement the following year. In December, curator Sally Lush curator starts talking with artists about their possible involvement.

In February of exhibition year teachers attend a briefing and select the hotly contested spots in the schools’ gallery in the underground fort. NZSOS is one of the few times this is open the public, and the schools’ exhibition always draws large and appreciative crowds.

In March, with plans and budgets in place, the trust gives the final go-ahead, as funds start being spent. Rachel’s own work also steps up several notches. Her role on the trust, aside from being chair, is as a curator, working closely with Sally Lush (one of the small paid management team), trustees Trisha Whiting and Kathryn Todd, and Tatjana Ratsdorf, artist and systems co-ordinator, also on the paid team.

While the curatorial team makes collective decisions, Rachel has the final say if necessary, bringing to bear her extensive gallery experience. “I have to step back from what I like to what I know people will buy.” While  NZSOS is a significant art event in its own right, this exhibition is a major fundraiser, and the board and trustees are deservedly proud of the substantial sum (in excess of $2.6 million) they have raised over the years to support Women’s Refuge.

The exhibition continues to grow, and this year the team has introduced a garden art display, featuring outdoor works at accessible prices. These will be displayed around the Officers’ Mess where the indoor gallery is located. More than 50% of the exhibiting artists are providing a maquette of their main work for the indoor gallery, and many more artists have provided unique individual works. The garden art features more than 30 other artists who have been asked to provide replicas of their work so a buyer can take one with them on the day of their visit.

Rachel says her busy time is from March to June when curatorial decisions are made, and every piece of art submitted is reviewed for acceptance. However, it seems there’s then little respite before November, as she and the team put in hundreds of hours in advance of the exhibition opening. “The minute we get access to the Officers’ Mess, I do wall-to-wall preparation, talk to the volunteer evening [this year on 28 October], set up the art and oversee logistics. There are so many considerations; with 20,000-plus people walking past, the artworks can’t jiggle around, everything needs to be secure…. “

Rachel is also the “face” of the exhibition, talking to media, public speaking, and engaging with sponsors and supporters. “I need to make the value of Women’s Refuge real to people,” she says. Having visited one of the refuges, she understands the impact on women of leaving their home, and their children having to leave behind toys and pets, arriving at the refuge with nothing. Linen is provided for every woman as she arrives, and there’s always a need for new whiteware in the houses, as well as ongoing maintenance. In addition, NZSOS  contributes to the Sievwight Fund which is set up to assist women to access education and career support and training, to be able to make the best decisions for their future. Rachel cites as an example one woman who received funding to  train as a truck driver, a dream turned into reality that enabled her to become independent and provide income for her family.

Friends of Women’s Refuges Trust sets a fundraising  target each year based on previous experience, ever-aware of the impact adverse weather might have. The last exhibition attracted record numbers and raised $350,000 for Women’s Refuge. This year, Rachel would love to raise more, as the 100-plus works exhibited in the outdoor display and around 140 works in the indoor gallery make it the biggest ever.

Each visitor to the exhibition will find their own highlight(s), but Rachel expects that, in addition to  the garden art, the new ‘Take a Seat’ trail, a succession of quirky, stylish and/or practical seats around the exhibition, will be popular with visitors. There are also major works by some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most notable sculptors; metres-high and centimetres-small works; and a strong representation of sculptures from Māori artists.

What excites Rachel most is simply “being around all that art.” NZSOS, she says, is more than a fundraiser. It is a significant exhibition artistically, raising the profile of the whole spectrum of sculpture. It’s also a great day out. “People come because it’s an outdoor, family-friendly event in a stunning setting,” she says. “They absorb the value of visual, kinetic and textural art  by walking through the sculptures. It’s a special 3-D experience.”

On another level, there’s the social context: the involvement of 20-plus schools, and a group exhibition from the Devonport-Takapuna Kahui Ako with younger students mentored by Year 9s from Takapuna Grammar; the community involvement (the exhibition requires over 400 volunteers acting as guides, caretakers of the artworks, selling tickets, and directing parking), with corporate staff volunteer days contributing to some but far from all of that number. And adding to the fundraising, there’s a commercial aspect, with some buyers purchasing for other sculpture gardens and public sites.

For Rachel, it’s also about the artists, who receive a standard commission on sales. “It’s always been important to me to encourage and mentor artists, for them to be seen… and to show their works. As well as featuring established artists, this exhibition can help new artists build their creative life.”

While NZ Sculpture OnShore is first and foremost about supporting New Zealand Women’s Refuge, Rachel believes it is a far deeper and richer experience than that, for the artists, for volunteers and supporters, and even more so for the thousands of people who visit.

NZ Sculpture OnShore, Operetu Fort Takapuna, 8-23 November, 10am-5pm

To volunteer, visit https://nzsculptureonshore.co.nz/pages/volunteer, or email volunteer@nzsculptureonshore.co.nz. Select as many (or as few) shifts as you wish. Shifts run from 10am -1.30pm or 1.30-5pm