Nine well-established New Zealand artists have gifted works to raise funds in opposition to the proposed Bendigo-Ophir gold mine in Central Otago. 

The artists have come together under the banner ‘No-Go-Bendigo’, and are offering 100 percent of the funds raised towards fighting the mine, an application for which is expected to be lodged soon with the government’s new Fast-Track Approvals Act. 

Between them, the artists are offering 20 separate works for sale at their market price, with the online exhibition expected to raise over $35,000 for lobby group Sustainable Tarras.

All the artists have connections with Central Otago and have spent formative time in the district, Sustainable Tarras said. 

“All have been deeply affected by the majesty and singular character of the region—as the statements on the exhibition website underline. They all wanted to make a strong stand,” the group said in a statement this week.

See the works - gifted by artists Bruce Foster, Dick Frizzell, Elizabeth Thomson, Eric Schusser, Euan Macleod, Grahame Sydney, Gregory O’Brien, Jenna Packer, and Nigel Brown - here. 

Exhibition organiser Gregory O’Brien said the artists were “highly motivated to help”. 

“The proposed desecration of a heritage area for purely monetary gain is an outrage to all of us, as it is to the citizens of Central Otago and to all New Zealanders,” he said.

“Painters, photographers, writers, film-makers, choreographers and other arts practitioners from within Central Otago and further afield are incensed at the churlishness of both the mining consortium and the government’s ruinous ‘Fast Track’ (aka ‘Highway to Hell’) legislation. The environmental cost of such a cold-blooded, extractive exercise is simply too high, as is the social impact and down-stream legacy.”

He said the exhibition was “just the first tranche of support from the art sector”. 

“We’ve already got plenty of others lined up wanting to help in the same way. This is just the beginning.”

Sustainable Tarras chair Suze Keith said the group was “thrilled” with the support, and the proceeds from the exhibition will go directly to funding expert reports and legal fees.

“We’re going to need all the help we can get - this is really David versus Goliath.”

Read more: First images of Bendigo mine released to public

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