Charity Art Sale - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations

Announcer: One of the most anticipated art events in Christchurch is the Charity Art Sale, organised this year by Neil Curtis. Neil, tell us all about it.

Neil: Well, Diane, this looks like being the biggest art sale yet, and the best thing about it is that the money raised will all go to charity. So what you probably want to know first is where it is. Well, the pictures will be on view all this week, most of them at the Star Gallery in the shopping mall, but we have so many pictures this year that we're also showing some in the cafe next door, so do drop in and see them any day between 9.00 and 5.00. Now if you're interested in buying rather than just looking - and we hope a lot of you will be - the actual sale will take place on Thursday evening, with sales starting at 7.30 - refreshments will be available before the sale, starting at 6.30. We've got about 50 works by local artists showing a huge range of styles and media, and in a minute I'll tell you about some of them. You're probably also interested in what's going to happen to your money once you've handed it over - well, all proceeds will go to support children who are disabled, both here in New Zealand and also in other countries, so you can find an original painting, support local talent, and help these children all at the same time.

Now let me tell you a bit about some of the artists who have kindly agreed to donate their pictures to the Charity Art Sale.

One of them is Don Studley, who has a special interest in the art sale because his five-year-old daughter was born with a serious back problem. After an operation earlier this year, she's now doing fine, but Don says he wants to offer something to help other less fortunate children. Don is totally self taught, and says he's passionate about painting. His paintings depict some of our New Zealand birds in their natural habitats.

One relative newcomer to New Zealand is James Chang, who came here from Taiwan nine years ago, at the age of 56. Mr Chang had 13 exhibitions in Taiwan before he came to live here in Christchurch so he's a well-established artist and art has been a lifelong passion for him. His paintings are certainly worth looking at - if you like abstract pictures with strong colour schemes, you'll love them.

Natalie Stevens was born in New Zealand, but has exhibited in China, Australia and Spain. As well as being an artist, she's a website designer. She believes art should be universal, and her paintings use soft colours and a mixture of media. Most of her pictures are portraits so watch out - some of them may even be friends of yours.

And then we have Christine Shin, from Korea. Christine only started to learn English two years ago, when she arrived in New Zealand, but she's been painting professionally for over ten years and she sure knows how to communicate strong messages through the universal language of art. She usually works from photographs, and paints delicate watercolours, which combine traditional Asian influences with New Zealand landscapes, giving a very special view of our local scenery.

Well, that's all I have time to tell you now, but as well as these four, there are many other artists whose work will be on sale so do come along on Thursday. We accept cheques, credit cards or cash and remember, even if you don't buy a picture you can always make a donation!