Ash Gibson (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou)

I’ve been coming to Vincents since I arrived in Wellington in 2022. I come every day and I feel very thankful to have found Vincents.

Before coming to Wellington I moved around a lot. I’ve found it hard to find work and to fit in to ‘normal’ society. My parents passed away some time ago and I’m estranged from most of my extended whanau. But I feel like I’ve found my whanau at Vincents.

I grew up an only child and while my parents were loving I often felt unseen and unheard. For people like me who don’t have great social skills, Vincents is a uniquely inclusive place where you can be who you are. I’ve lived in many places and never found anything like it. If it wasn’t here I don’t know what I’d do. I know many others feel like that too.

 Art is a very healing thing. It’s hard to explain but it’s a way to express your feelings and whatever’s going on inside you and help you deal with that. Being in a place like Vincents is really helpful for mental health issues, depression, loneliness, and trauma . In the past I haven’t felt like I had much community or whanau support, but I’ve found that at Vincents. Coming here makes me feel less lonely and less depressed. It gives me a reason to get out of the house and be productive.

I’ve been looking for something like Vincents for a long time, and to have finally found it has been life-changing. It’s become my new found whanau. All of us come for different reasons, whether it’s to make art or craft or just feel part of a community. Like any whanau, we all have our differences but we can also be ourselves here, doing our own thing and also creating amazing art together.

 I’ve always been interested in art but I’ve never really had the support to pursue it. Vincents has been amazing. It’s not just being able learn new skills like pottery or jewellery-making, and access materials and resources that I’d never have been able to afford on a benefit. It’s also the opportunity to get feedback and inspiration, and to display my work through exhibitions and social media. That’s given me huge  motivation to continue and keep developing, as an artist and as a person.

So has the encouragement from tutors and staff members Being able to tap into all their experience and knowledge is incredible. Their enthusiasm for us and for our art is really uplifting and affirming. 

I’ve developed a lot of other transferable skills since I’ve been coming here. For example, helping with curating exhibitions, helping other artists, learning how to use equipment such as power saws for working with wood, building connections with the Wellington artistic community, and becoming more confident in dealing with people.

Plus it’s improved my physical health. I walk here and when I first started coming I really struggled– I had to stop and catch my breath every few minutes. Now it’s easy.

These are all (literally!) small steps but they’re all moving me in the right direction.

Before I found Vincents I was very transient and getting down on life. Now, I have a purpose and goals for the future.

I want to stay involved with art and I would like to be a selling artist. I want to be able to pay for my rent, my bread and butter, and do a little extra. But I also know that there are lots of options. For example, having helped curate exhibitions I’m interested in working in an art gallery or even having my own gallery one day. Or building on my experience helping other people and possibly becoming an art tutor. Being at Vincents has helped make all those things possible.

I feel like I’m in the place where I need to be, at last. I didn’t get the chance to follow my passion when I was younger, but I also know that it’s never too late and this is my time now.

I’ve been lucky to get some great feedback from people who have adopted pieces of my art. For example, someone who has a piece of mine in her art collection asked her children (3 of whom are artists themselves) which pieces they’d like to keep when she’d ‘moved on’ – and they chose mine. It’s amazing for me to get that validation from ‘real’ artists.

Someone else told me they looked at a ceramic piece of mine when they walked out their door every day because it makes them feel happy. That’s such a wonderful thing to hear, and to know I can make a difference.

I’m so grateful to Vincents for helping me follow my passion, and live my purpose.

Interviewed by Bryan Simpson