Prime Minister Helen Clark congratulated the artists and commended the work of Arts Access Aotearoa at this week's launch of New Zealand's first Outside-In Gallery at Bowen House at Parliament.
Arts Access Aotearoa, a national organisation working with artists from marginalised groups, has established the Outside-In Gallery to promote Outsider Art and support artists to earn an income from their work.
It is expected to become the largest gallery in New Zealand because it involves loaning out artworks to government and private sector offices with the option to buy.
"It's so exciting to see this initiative and the scale of it," Helen Clark said at the launch. "This is not a gallery of bricks and mortar but one where the work will be circulated among offices. However, I think that people won't want to let the work go from their walls but will want to buy it. And that's good for the artists.
"But it's not just about helping the artists. It's about helping us understand the artists and what they are saying about contemporary life in New Zealand."
Arts Access Aotearoa works with close to 100 Creative Spaces and Places throughout New Zealand. Artists at Creative Spaces and Places typically belong to marginalised groups such as those with disabilities or mental health issues, refugees and under-privileged new migrants and prisoners.

http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/node/5762