Weaving Community Shutter Room Portrait Day - ArtBeat 2025

This activation, led by Ellie Smith, will transform the Civic space outside the Shutter Room and Central Library into a mobile, outdoor photo studio. In the style of Richard Avedon’s portraits, Light Catchers team members will take portraits of visitors against a stark white backdrop.

The project aims to capture as many people as possible, celebrating the diversity and unity within the community.

Photographer and educator Ellie Smith and curator Angela Rowe, will collaborate with our volunteers & Light Catchers teams to bring this project to life.

You’ll receive a printed portrait via the Shutter Room’s Selphy Printer.

A slideshow of portraits will be shown on the Shutter Room front-window.

Images will be displayed at the Library Satellite Exhibition Space. This year’s theme, 'Weaving Community', encourages exploration of connection, collaboration, and belonging through lens-based and photographic practice.

‘Weaving communities’ Exhibition

This exhibition will display member-created works exploring community, its appearance, and the feeling it evokes. Mediums will include photography, video, audio-visual pieces, photomontage, and installations. This gallery event will also feature a public opening and a curation and critique workshop led by Angela Rowe, offering an educational component for participants.

About us: The Shutter Room Collective and Gallery is a volunteer run community led organisation, we are an incorporated society with a governance committee, we are fortunate to have a wonderful team of volunteer gallery hosts.

We have a professional photo studio available for hire, we run workshops and community events alongside our calendar of exhibitions.

Our mission: To support and promote photographic practice in our region

Formally established June 2013, The Shutter Room Collective (TSRC) aims to foster photographic practices in Northland. Our objective is to enable established and emerging photographers in Te Tai Tokerau to share knowledge and ideas, discuss their practice and explore points of connection between the work of each artist through; exhibitions, the TSRC’s Photographic Studio, social media and collaborative projects.

We are able to keep our doors open thanks to generous support from Whangarei District Council, Creative Northland, the Creative Communities Scheme and Lotteries Community Grants.