Scott Lawrie Gallery began life in 2017 as a regional contemporary art space in Matakana, New Zealand – a semi-rural village with a population of under 500 people. The gallery, a unique purpose-built exhibition space (inspired by a sheep shed) invited a mix of emerging, mid-career, and major international artists.

Somehow, it worked.

In 2020 COVID arrived, and NZ became one of the most locked-down countries in the world, so the gallery was forced to close and go online. A few months later, still a little bruised, the gallery moved to a small space in central Auckland to kick things off again.

By 2021 the gallery was back on its feet, but I was feeling increasingly unsettled. It seemed to me that big brands, private museums, art fairs and more, had somehow taken over as the arbiters of taste, pushing aside many artists who would never get shown in such an obviously manufactured and sterile environment. The art world is no stranger to late stage capitalism and market manipulation, but given its crushing effects on creativity, I knew I needed to pivot away from institutional structures and ‘blue-chip’ gallery models towards a more open, fearless, vessel for artists.

In 2022, I moved in to an even larger warehouse space with three dedicated exhibition areas. This allowed me to work with artists on major shows – encouraging an energetic mix of viewers and supporters. Mount Eden became a popular and welcoming space to anyone, and offered a decent coffee, engaging conversation, and a large library of art books to dive into at any time. I loved getting out of there and into communities too. In particular, I grew close to the Moana / Pasifika artists from as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.

In 2022, tired of the white box thing, I took things up a gear with The Confessions, a public show inspired by the brutal 17thC Scottish witch hunts; an allegory for the scourge of cancel culture today. This was my first attempt at a free large-scale show in Auckland, bringing in over 1000 visitors to the waterfront concrete silos in its first week.

The gallery has hosted around 200 exhibitions, and shown work by over 120 artists from around the world including interesting international artists such as Patricia Piccinini, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, Rebecca Wallis, Fiona Pardington, Andy Leleisi'uao, James Collins and many more.

Scott Lawrie Gallery will present its first UK show 'THIS IS NO SAFE SPACE: Art in Capitalist Realism' during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 3-25 August 2024.