Waikato Business News July/August 2023

10 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, JULY/AUGUST 2023
The Red Shed
fosters the arts
Like any small business, the business of
art can be a hard road travelled, Māori
multidisciplinary artist Daniel Ormsby
(Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Kaputuhi, Ngāti
Uekaha) uses his years of experience to
guide up-and-coming artists through
the roadblocks on their journey.
The Business of Art
EXPLORING THE CREATIVES IN THE BUSINESS OF ART
You can’t miss The Red
Shed where Daniel is
based, it’s on the road
that leads to one of the country’s
best-known tourist spots –
the Waitomo caves.
Opened seven years ago,
The Red Shed is not just a space
for creating art it is also a place
for creative thought and learning
to flow, and many artists
have passed through its doors.
“It was just an idea as everything
else is. I was in a comfort
zone working from home. The
home is a very comfortable
place but it also has limitations.
I just recognised the need for
myself to grow,” he says.
Daniel and a couple of
friends decided to rent a house
locally and the building that
would become the Red Shed
was available.
Housed in one of the oldest
buildings in Waitomo, they
set about transforming it into
a gallery and studio space with
an adjoining covered work
area outside.
“It’s about 135 years old, at
least. But it’s perfect for what
we do. It’s not a sterile environment
so it doesn’t matter
if we can drop paint. It’s a
great creative environment,”
Daniel says.
“We’re in prime location just
before the village so everyone
has to go past us, which is the
blessing and a curse.”
The curse of it being the
time it takes from creating
art to extend manaakitanga
(hospitality) to visitors,
Daniel says.
In the past few years, The
Red Shed has become less of
a public gallery and more of a
place to do the work of creating;
it was a key learning that came
out of Covid for Daniel.
“It’s been a bit of a flux
and we’ve diminished the gallery
aspect of it because we
weren’t getting any work done,”
he laughs.
“When Covid came the tourism
slowed down and we closed
the doors and discovered that
we were getting so much more
work done.”
An established artist for
many years, Daniel knows he
has the luxury of already having
his name out there.
His tā moko (tattoo) bookings
fill up quickly, his carvings
and paintings are widely sought
after and there’s always commission
work on offer.
Because of this success,
Daniel mentors other creatives
as they set out to make a career
in the fickle world of art.
“I’m a bit of a helper. I think
it’s just an extension of who I
am. I was doing arts in a time
when I was mocked for it or told
to get a real job. I went through
the hard times and just pointing
out potholes so others don’t
have to stand in them or to
accelerate people so they don’t
have to struggle.”
From a shearing family,
Daniel formally started his art
journey nearly 30 years ago
at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
but he had been carving well
before that.
He studied contemporary
art during the day and carved
at night, and graduated with a
double major in contemporary
and traditional art.
He then went on to tutor at
the wānanga and also did a stint
in the marketing department,
which helped build an important
skill set in any business.
It’s this marketing skill that
Daniel puts to good use on
Facebook, which is where most
of his work sells.
“I’ve really only ever used
Daniel Ormsby
Facebook. My timing with
Facebook coincided with my tā
moko career. I had a style that
was quite different and it stood
out at that time. People would
comment on my work and
others would see and it grew
from there.”
In the early days of his
career, Daniel became a single
father on the DPB and
he used this time to learn te
reo and continued honing his
creative skills. He worked in
his own home before being
given the opportunity to use
a shed by a local drug and
alcohol, mental health and
wellbeing organisation.
“In return I volunteered to
take troubled youth two to three
days a week. Because nothing’s
free and the work ethic
I got from my parents made it
important to me to feel that I’m
giving back.”
Daniel continues this philosophy
of giving back in the
opportunities he provides at
The Red Shed.
Opportunities for emerging
artist to work alongside
established artists, for artists
to gather and work alongside
each other and tonnes of opportunities
for inspiration and art
kōrero (discussion).
And because of the work
ethic he gained from his parents,
Daniel expects a lot from
the people who use the space.
“You’ve got to want to do
the work. A lot of people would
like to just come and hang out
because of the atmosphere, but
you have to be working. Your
work shows if you’re talented,
and also if you’ve got the ethic.”
Like any business, the team
culture is an important part
of ‘hiring’ and fitting in with
the values of The Red Shed is
important to Daniel.
“I’ve got a tikanga (principles)
and mauri (spirit) here
where no one’s better than anyone
else.”
Artists at a Red Shed workshop
It can also be a place of healing
for the artists that spend
time at the shed.
“Artists are drawn to the
energies present at shed,”
he says. “The arts help many
reconnect with a sense of
meaning and purpose in their
lives, particularly when they’ve
passed through trauma or have
reached a spot in life where
growth is required.”
And while Daniel may have
been in the business of art for
decades, he’s not afraid to re-examine
his business practices.
Last year he attended Creative
Waikato course Elevate
with a number of other artists
involved in the shed.
The nine-month programme
supported creative
practitioners to investigate how
they could have achievable,
financially viable and sustainable
creative careers.
“I had to do it because
I forced everyone else to,”
he laughs.
“But I got so much out of it.
You just get deeper roots. I’d get
by on a strategy of just do the
art and face the business side
of things it as it comes. That’s
good to a point. But then it gets
messy. So, it’s a necessary topic
for artists – you can’t run from
it forever. You’ve got to deal
with all that stuff.”