Lee Woodman, Artist, lives in Nelson with his partner.
I didn't, I was born here!
Another question might be why have I stayed? I would say that I have come to realise it’s not about where you live, it’s about what you can do where you live, and in Nelson I have earned a reputation for providing a good service in many different areas and therefore I don’t have to find work, it finds me. This takes a lot of stress and effort out of my life and I don't imagine it would easily transfer to another location.
The lifestyle is actually pretty good. There is no shortage of things to do, especially if one is into the outdoors. With national parks, mountains and sea in close proximity this would have to be the biggest drawcard for the area. I do enjoy the outdoors but its not my main sustainer of interest. As an artist it’s more the cultural things that feed my being.
Even within the cultural sector here, there is always something on or happening, and I find I don't have capacity to follow or attend everything that is going on. Between the Theatre Royale, and the NCMA and other minor venues, there are more performances than I can keep up with. Then there are the local galleries and museum with opening functions and exhibitions. The arts festival, fringe festival, light festival and many other such happenings and programmes, provide heaps of cultural input to the region.
That being said, what's not so great is the level of edginess or punch a lot of these (especially exhibitions) carry. Often, living in a provincial town like Nelson can feel stifling due to the conservatism that is predominant. Big acts or artists normally will head to bigger centres, our facilities are probably too small or not suited well to big artists.
However, what I also then like about Nelson is how close it is to Wellington!
I do a great variety of things for work. Firstly I am a qualified builder so I take on small, interesting building projects to keep the bills paid. Alongside that I work in the creative sector mostly providing technical services for institutions and events, as well as art transport and installation. I also design and build public furniture for the local council where they also contract me to assess maintenance schedules for public art and heritage buildings, and public art restoration/installation.
And when I can, I make art and exhibit it.