Death Drawing with Social Ritual

Have you ever wanted to give life drawing a go? How about joining The Metropolitan Club at Highwic during The Art of Death exhibition and trying your hand at life drawings’ mysterious dark twin ‘Death Drawing’.

Open to novice pencil holders, budding artists and trained professionals alike, the creative team at Social Ritual will be hosting an immersive drawing experience like no other and can guide artists at any level to get the most from their time in this session.

Guests will be treated to three hours of artistic indulgence.

Your ticket price includes...
- Two experienced life models who will be posing in a number of scenes surrounded by lush vanitas still life settings
- Guidance and support from Social Ritual's art tutor and drawing mentor
- Hendrick's Gin cocktails, San Pellegrino drinks and food to match
- A private after-hours tour of The Art of Death exhibition and Auckland's favourite gothic mansion Highwic
- All drawing supplies to use at the session and take home at the end of the evening including quality drawing paper and all drawing implements
- The chance to win a collectable Hendrick's Gin tea set

Numbers are limited, so book your ticket today!

(Pictured is the work of artist Sophie MacDonnell who is exhibiting at The Art of Death.)

About The Art of Death Exhibition
​It’s the 21st century and taxidermy is fashionable once more. Gone are the days where gentleman hunters were mounting the spoils of their morbid excursions, this Victorian art-form is currently experiencing a female-led resurgence that has a reverence for wildlife and conservation at its heart.

It is this renewed interest in the art of taxidermy that The Metropolitan Club, in association with Hendrick’s Gin and Highwic, supported by Heritage NZ and the Auckland Museum, will explore in The Art of Death from the 14th September – 27th October 2019.

The Art of Death is a multi-disciplinary exhibition by seven female artists which will transform the rooms of historic gothic mansion Highwic, into curious new settings. Supported by a programme of events and experiences, the exhibition will explore the the curious life affirming possibilities found in death, interrogate the macabre and its spectrum of gothic aesthetics as well as examining attitudes toward death, mourning and commemoration through creative cultural and social practices from the Victorian era to today.

Beyond enjoying these specially created installations, visitors can go ‘beyond the ropes’ and get up close and personal by attending an absinthe tasting, meet the artists at an afternoon salon over a Hendrick's Gin or get the kids involved in a garden bug hunting art workshop.

​The exhibition will take visitors from taxidermy of the past, with a display of historical pieces from the Auckland Museum’s collection not normally on public display including a jaguar, badger, wombat and bear, as well as items from Highwic’s own collection, to the present, with room installations by artists Antoinette Ratcliffe, Karley Feaver, Hayley Theyers, Sophie MacDonnell, Jane Thorne, Paola King-Borrero and Kate Rampling.

The Art of Death exhibition hopes that the experience of taxidermy and other death related art forms, combined with multi-sensory events and experiences, will encourage us all to live fully by exploring our own ideas of mortality.

This thoroughly modern take on this historical art-form will run from the 14th September – 27th October, at Highwic. Entry to the exhibition is $10 which goes towards the preservation and upkeep of this important Heritage NZ property.

Highwic is located at 40 Gillies Ave, Epsom, Auckland 1023 and is open Wednesday to Sunday 10.30am – 4.30pm. Events and experiences during The Art of Death exhibition take place at various times.

For further information please visit www.themetropolitan.club.