We held an inaugural meeting last December to discuss the possibility of forming a network amongst local artists to offer workshops. World of WearableArt and The Suter te Aratoi o Whakatu, two of Nelson's flagship arts organisations, together with a number of other established organisations and interested individuals, agreed to become members. An embryonic organisation, Creative Tourism New Zealand (CTNZ), emerged and was launched on 1 May 2003 by Dame Cheryll Sotheran, the founder of Wellington's Te Papa museum.