Elva Bett curated an exhibition as director of the Centre Gallery in 1968 called Painting today by Thirty Women Painters.
Early exhibitions included pottery by Doreen Blumhardt and prints by Greer Twiss and Hamish Keith.
[3] The gallery exhibited art by emerging artists such as Tony Fomison, Philip Clairmont, and Allen Maddox.
[3] In the 1980s, Betts focus shifted from gallery work to writing and she went on to publish two books including Drawing and Painting: a complete study course for New Zealanders (1984).
[2] Bett was referred to in a book of prose poems about visual art by Michele Leggott called Vanishing Points.