Who is Alethe Clezy, and what is the trust about?
Alethe delighted in the beauty and diversity of God’s created world and in discovering and developing with herself the artistic creativity that God had placed there as a person made in his own image.
Her journey of increasing awareness and appreciation of God’s creativity in the world around her and within herself deeply
enriched her enjoyment and worship of her redeeming God and released in her a spirit of exploration, joyand love that many of us recognize as distinctively Alethe.
It is Alethe’s wish that young people be encouraged to recognize that artistic activity is an integral part of who we are. She desires that they be
encouraged to develop their gifts to express and strengthen their faith and to communicate Christian truths to others.
To this end she suggested the establishment of a Trust to foster creativity in the arts in a Christian context. She was definite that ‘the arts’ be interpreted in the broadest sense to include not only present, but also future forms of artistic expression.
Alethe was a pioneer of the arts in Poatina, setting up the village pottery studio in 1995 and playing an active part in the village’s arts activities since then. To honour Alethe, and with Alethe’s agreement, the Poatina Arts Colony is naming their new Arts Centre, currently under construction,
‘Alethea - Mountain Retreat Arts Centre’.
This will provide a base, but not necessarily the only base, for activities funded by the Trust.
Before her passing, in August 2011, Alethe helped draft the following aims of the Trust:
• To encourage and inspire young people to envision the use of creative skills in communicating Christian truth
• To help young and emerging artists to develop their gifts and increase their skills in making artwork
• To mentor these artists taking a place in the contemporary art world and being a Christian presence within it, both personally and professionally
• To foster the production of good artwork which communicates Christian truth to the contemporary world in stimulating and challenging ways
There are diverse ways of attempting to attain these aims. These may include:
1 Short term Artist-in-Residence programs at Poatina giving self-funded applicants access to the skills / instruction / mentoring of accomplished artists.
2 A Fellowship or Fellowships awarded to enable promising young artists with a strong Christian faith to further develop expertise in their chosen art forms.
3 Week-long or weekend workshops with skilled artists to inspire and introduce young people to the delight and possibilities of a particular art form.
It is Alethe’s wish that donations given in her memory should benefit this Trust, which is still in the process of being legally constituted.
If you are interested in knowing more about the Trust in the future, or in making a contribution, please fill in your contact details below, and submit to the Arts Colony and we will make contact with you.
If you would like to find out more about this trust or the way you can contribute to it, please fill in the following details.
We will be in touch with you by email.
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