Emerging artists often find it hard to find outlets willing sell their works. Locally, this has become easier via an artists’ collective which has formed Artq, a new online gallery championing those with Otago connections.

Katerina Thomas is the driver behind this startup initiative. As an artist with a background in design and digital marketing, Katerina says she arrived in Dunedin and quickly noticed there was nowhere to buy art by recent graduates and other emerging artists generally.

In between juggling a young family and her day job – helping businesses use technology to further their goals – Katerina saw a clear opportunity to form an online space for a simple idea to grow.

“I’ve always been interested in the concept of buying local in order to support local economy. I thought people were really missing out by not having access to these beautiful and affordable works and there are plenty of artists who have drawers full and nowhere to display them!”

Artq has quickly taken off since its ‘soft’ launch in August, gaining more interest from young buyers and seasoned collectors alike. Thomas’s dream is to keep gathering people under the Artq umbrella until it becomes New Zealand’s number one place to access emerging artists and their works.

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