Art and Conservation Converge in the Town Belt
Established Ōtepoti/Dunedin artist Sam Foley's recent show The Green Belt Invitational invited an exciting array of local and national artists to showcase works drawing upon their inspiration from our green spaces. Sam also used the show as a vehicle to facilitate awareness of and a generous $5,000 donation to Predator Free Dunedin's City Sanctuary project.
We caught up with Sam in his Ōtepoti/Dunedin studio to talk about inspiration, the intersection between art and urban conservation, and his involvement in City Sanctuary as a backyard trapper.
Sam Foley at his Ōtepoti/Dunedin studio
Seeing the Results in our Backyard
For Sam, the decision to support City Sanctuary wasn't just artistic - it was personal. Living in Glenleith with the Ross Creek Reservoir trails on his doorstep, Sam and his family have seen firsthand the incredible impact of the community’s collective mahi.
"The community really cares," Sam says. In the eight years they have lived there, he has noticed a shift. Where possums were once regularly heard at night, they are now a rarity. Instead, the family is enjoying a noticeable increase in tūī, kererū, and eastern rosella numbers, and they often spot warou (welcome swallow) swooping across the reservoir.
This abundance of birdlife is directly connected to the hard work happening in backyards across the suburb. Sam and his family have a possum trap on their property, as do their neighbours, contributing to the safe haven forming around the Town Belt.
A Vehicle for Change
Sam sees a powerful connection between the art community in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Predator Free 2050 projects. He aspires for his work to be a vehicle for change, having previously used his 2024 show Whakanewha to support Te Korowai o Waiheke’s predator free mahi on Waiheke Island.
For The Green Belt Invitational the goal was to educate the art community about what is happening in the very spaces that inspire them.
"We really appreciated having Kate (from City Sanctuary) come to the opening to talk," Sam says. "She's so knowledgeable, and the guests learned so much."
A Vision for the Future
Sam's latest works invite viewers to connect to the dark, leafy avenues of Ōtepoti/Dunedin's green belt, immersing them in snapshots of the environment he runs through often. But his vision for the future goes beyond the canvas.
Looking ahead, there are plans to hold the invitational biennially, strengthening the link between our local art community and conservation efforts. As for his vision for a predator-free Ōtepoti/Dunedin? Sam is anticipating the day when kākā join the tūī and kererū as regular visitors to his family's backyard.