We are excited to announce Thread Redemption in the Thistle Hall Community Gallery. This week- long event will raise awareness and offer creative ideas around how we deal with clothing and textile waste in Aotearoa. There will be a range of family friendly drop-in activities to try, free & low-cost evening workshops (ticketed) and the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion.
Our event schedule will be released this week - 12 - 18 March 2018
Daily drop in activities include: Table Loom Weaving, Decorative Mending, Pompomtastic!, Sewing Repair Cafe 101, Ocean Plait Mat, Make Your Own Produce Bags.
Good Luck Works explores the interplay between good luck and hard work, which plays out as we all agitate for our little patch of Pantone Greenery. Good luck can work, but it also works – and it often works hard.
Fortune cookies, breakfast cereal, soy sauce and money bag dumplings - not to mention a wall of waving cats. Good Luck Works offers a lucky dip into the straight and narrow of hard work, and the tectonic shifts and orbital off-coursing of good luck. But it’s not strictly business. It is, in fact, also personal, telling the backstory of a baking business and the business of backing yourself.
You ‘have a lucky break’ and crack open the fortune cookie included with your takeout order, what does it say? Come in, write up your fortune cookie fortune and have it included in Fortune Favours, an audience driven artwork. And read what others have to say about good luck and hard work.
Exhibition Event
The Chocolate Bar presents Bold, Brave and Unique Craft Chocolate – A Guided Tasting Session
7pm, Thursday 15 March
For one night only Luke Owen Smith from The Chocolate Bar is taking over the gallery for a bespoke chocolate tasting session. Luke has curated a selection of delicious and adventurous craft chocolates specifically for this evening tasting.
Tickets for this event can be purchased at $25 each from thechocolatebar.nz.
Fortune favours those who book early.
Opening on Wednesday 7 March, Anneke Nahkies is exhibiting a collection of pointe ballet shoes. These are mostly used shoes that, having fulfilled their original function, Anneke has ‘recovered’ to wonderful works of art that have given the shoes an ongoing and enduring purpose. In completing the work for this exhibition Anneke has married her artistic flair with her growing love of ballet and her active engagement in dance.
Anneke began creating this unusual collection in April 2017 when she joined the 100 Day Art Project. The extent of the creative endeavour involved quickly established that creating 100 artworks from 100 pairs of ballet shoes would take far longer than one 100 days!
The quality of Anneke’s work as an artist and the candour of her accompanying commentary on her chronic mental health challenges have attracted generous donations of pointe shoes for her to work with and a worldwide following on social media (see Instagram).
Looking through a lens allows the viewer to see through the Photographer’s eye. This Exhibition brings together the work of six Wellington photographers. Each project showcases a way of looking at the world that moves beyond the ordinary snapshot.
Photographers: Elise Bal, Angharad George, Jo Jansen-Thomson, Cliff Magno, Catherine O'Hare & Rick Spencer
300 and Under brings together artists that represent the community that is Pablos.
We are a creative space in Wellington’s CBD providing a studio environment where our artists can explore connecting to the process of making art.
Join us and celebrate the creative journey in all its forms as we acknowledge personal connections and communal relationships.
Check us out on Facebook and preview a selection of works to whet your appetite.
Nautilus Creative Space is the home to an exciting and diverse collective of over 20 artists and musicians on Wellington’s South Coast. From jewellers, sculptors, and painters, to carvers, leather specialists and furniture makers, artists of all types make up this inspired haven by the sea. From pieces that will delight and inspire you to those that intrigue – Nexus Please! – offers a rare chance to sample, savour and connect with a unique creative showcase from Nautilus artists.
The show features the contemporary 3D structures of artist Aaron Frater, the exquisite jewellery of Sue Keates, and the wondrous New Zealand pounamu creations of Nick Spicer Balme and Madelyne Gourdin, who are recently back from winning awards for their carving in China. Also on display will be Mary Laine’s Burtonesque marionettes, the striking flora and fauna inspired drawings of Fleur Midalia, bold emotive pieces from Jasmine Rangi Jones, Kate Muir’s quirky characterisations and surreal worlds along with eclectic works from many others.
Photo 1 Artists: Top - Nick Spicer Balme & Madelyne Gourdin; Bottom Left to Right – Xtiaan Day; Tim Mills
Photo 2 Artists: Top – Bev Tso Hong; Bottom Left to Right – Fleur Midalia; Jasmine Rangi Jones; Aaron Frater
Photo 3 Artists: Top – Su Keates; Bottom - Kate Muir
What do you see in a tree? What does a tree mean to you? When was the last time you looked at nature instead of just walking past it?
Now you can step inside Thistle Hall and experience the unique art of Michael Angelo (his real name!) who has been inspired by nature since childhood to reveal the unseen, the shapes, colours and energies of nature, translated into painted carvings that speak to you.
His inspiration comes from visits to national parks locally and in many countries, experiencing natural and often spiritual environments of trees, flowers and fauna in the form of nature spirits deep in the mystical, unspoilt forests where roots of the trees reach deep into the energy of the earth, and their branches burst heavenwards.
Come and see a display of freestanding multidimensional trees, the most recent one having taken seven months to complete with inspiration coming from a Nikau palm in Napier botanical gardens.
Nowhere else will you see nature like this, and each work of art has a story which can be retold by asking the artist himself.
Come and be prepared for a rich experience of art that feeds the senses that will appeal to people of all ages, including the visually impaired, and particularly children.
Celebrating the 5th anniversary of the YuYu Japanese Calligraphy School Wellington.
Free Workshop
with Grand Master Calligrapher Akiko Crowther
Tues 23 - Thurs 25 Jan, 11.00am - 1.00pm
Contact: akiko@yuyu.co.nz
6 days to solve all your christmas shopping needs, while supporting local, independent creatives - it's practically guilt-free!
Heaps of good stuff from just $5.
Check out Facebook for a preview of some of the good stuff on offer (updated regularly, so check back for even MORE good stuff…)
FEATURING GOOD STUFF BY:
genevieve packer, greta menzies, flora waycott, hmxhm, tutu, alani mckenna, the neighbourhood studio, felt up, gael, krat, underwood terraniums, ngaere mackinnon, gravyface designs, niche textile studio, julie+jack, mel m, amy van luijk, nomoa, bird plus bird, meniscus, catherine adam photography & design, craft me up, 2 minute needles, crafted by lori, elise brimer, baron hasselhoff's boutique hand-crafted chocolates, forest drawn, paige jarman ceramics, sam keer, vivian rodriguez and ottie & me.
Michèle Dales, artist and flax weaver, recently celebrated the start of a new decade. She is making way for the new by clearing her home of paintings and drawings that have gathered up during her life as an artist. This is a wonderful opportunity to buy beautiful pieces of her work at very reasonable prices. All work is original and one off. Any profit from sales of artwork will go towards these causes:
NZ Women's Refuge
Refugee Family Reunification
Otaki Animal Sanctuary
Jean Watson's Karunai Ilam Trust in India
'No Apologies' is Wellington HELP's first art fundraiser in many years. Please come and support us, our work with survivors, and the artists supporting us by getting along on opening night! And perhaps even do some early Christmas shopping...
We are delighted that Jan Logie MP, the new Undersecretary to the Minister of Justice with responsibility specifically for Domestic and Sexual Violence, is able to open our exhibition.
Contributing artists include Sian Torrington, Danielle Burns, Jack Trolove, Maria Colls and more. Entry to opening night is by koha.
Exhibiting artists share a commitment to our kaupapa of envisioning and bringing into being a world free from sexual and gender violence. Our theme, 'No Apologies', refers to the heartfelt response each artist has made, through their work, to this kaupapa. We look forward to seeing you there!
Expressive Drawing Workshop with Sian Torrington
1st image: Danielle Burns, photo credit Jac Lynch
Natural landscapes, myth and storytelling are at the centre of this exhibition by Hillary Reid. Featuring a collection of watercolour paintings, StoryScapes presents scenes that hint at stories you may have heard before or perhaps those that have yet to be written. Hillary takes inspiration from both traditional landscape and illustration, as well as from folklore and travel. It is always interesting to see the correlation between wild, natural environments and rich folkloric history.
Visitors will be welcome to purchase work and also contribute their own interpretations and stories of the paintings on display.
More information about the artist and contact details:
Year One and Two Whitireia Polytechnic visual arts students are holding an end of year exhibition at Cuba Street’s Thistle Hall from November 14 – 19. The exhibition will feature the best in up and coming visual art studio based media including contemporary jewellery, painting, ceramics and printmaking.
“The course is a three year Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Visual Arts and Design and is a unique opportunity for members of the public to view and buy art works of New Zealand’s next generation of contemporary artists,” said Deb Donnelly, Creative Enterprise tutor and senior lecturer.
The show is all about layers and how once you engage with art the different layers naturally unfold to provide a more personal meaning to the viewer or wearer.
From the use of greywacke in contemporary jewellery to henna in printmaking students have used an exciting variety of traditional, organic and more unconventional materials to create pieces that are fresh and unique.
In a world of artificial intelligence and machine generated objects these students are focused on celebrating the art of bespoke pieces and creating personalised artistic works.
Students will be hosting the show and on hand to talk about the works throughout the exhibition.
For more information contact:
“Inner Worlds” is about the experiences of university students in Wellington and their identity formation. The university period of life serves as a deconstructive and highly intense time for personal identity development. Alongside this journey comes big challenges - a major one being mental health. The artists in this exhibition are all a part of the art club at Victoria University - Misfits Club. Misfits is both a club and a peer support service to students. Peer support challenges conventions of mental health support, teaching those involved how to care for each other while struggling with the inevitable pains of life.
The exhibition talks about personal identity while asking the audience to consider their own experience of mental health and identity. The show will include collaborative art in the form of finger painting and letter writing. Part of the importance of the exhibition lies in the challenge to struggling students to continue to create - regardless of their struggle. However, sometimes mental health can be a barrier to creation, so the exhibition also discusses the non-displayed and “uncompleted” art.
Contact Carissa at 022-108-8082 for more info. Or email misfitsclubvuw@gmail.com
This exhibition presents a set of curious encounters: We welcome visitors to the gallery to encounter innovative furniture inspired by coffee. Secondly, a series of hotel designs experiments with the hotel as both an idea and a phenomenon. A further encounter occurs between furniture and hotel, which are closely related. Prototypes of tables and chairs mix with hotel designs. All exhibits are designed and fabricated by Victoria University of Wellington’s vibrant young minds. Visitors are encouraged to engage with this landscape of furniture and hotel artefacts, to view them or sit amongst them and have coffee.
Concept:
Hans-Christian Wilhelm: Curator and Course Coordinator Furniture
Simon Towse: Curator and Course Coordinator Hotel
Exhibition Design, Centre En-Counter, Graphics:
Hans-Christian Wilhelm, Ann-Kathrin Eberhardt, Denise Duggan, Cameron Roussow, Steven Almond, Dion Andrews, Julia Vencatachellum, Hudson Volykhine
Furniture prototypes and designs:
Gareth Alexander, Dion Andrews, Benjamin Carpenter, Annabel Childs, Thomas Clark, Charles Devine, Denise Duggan, Ann-Kathrin Eberhard, Rose, Flynn, Travis Hinchliff, Alan Howard, Karly Kimura, Sophie Kolmer, Andy Lee, Natasha Linley, Javiera Magallon Nicolet, Luke Poulsen, Liam Prentice, Apirana Procuta, Mariana Restrepo Sierra, Cameron Rossouw, Giorgio Scott, Grace Tennent, Philip Tong, Julia Vencatachellum, Hudson Volykhine, Bronya Webb, Yujia Zhao
Welcome to Aztlan!
This October, tattoo's come alive to tell the stories of Chicano's. The Illustrated Chicano is an interactive installation that tells a story of migration through moving tattoos. Artist William Franco, of Wellington arts company "With Lime", brings to life his Journey to Aotearoa using body casting and projection.
The installation, which re-purposes Ray Bradbury's story "The Illustrated Man," welcomes visitors to experience the culture and history of Chicano's. Visitors will be able to observe the construction of the piece from October 23-25 and experience the finished installation from October 26-29.
For more information check out our Facebook page and our website With Lime.
As earthquake prone cities, Christchurch, Wellington, and Sendai, Japan share common ground through recent experience. These cities are now looking to build earthquake resilience and create ‘resilient cities’. But how do we create stronger communities, and what is the role of art and urban design in building these cities?
Shared Lines: Wellington brings artists already effected by earthquake to the capital to encourage new discussion. It is a week-long series of art displays, talks, performances, and workshops, with artists from Japan, Christchurch and Kaikoura sharing their experience, knowledge and work in building resilience alongside the business and city planning sectors. The programme seeks to ‘earthquake strengthen’ the Wellington arts community.
Three Japanese artists have been invited to exhibit alongside Christchurch and Kaikoura based artists including Audrey Baldwin, Kim Lowe, Matthew Moriarty, Miranda Parkes, Tonya Sweet and Jason Ware to name a few. The exhibition features sculpture, performace, painting, photography, digital works and installation.
With the increasing number and severity of natural disaster and humanitarian crises faced by towns and cities around the Pacific Rim, we need to discuss and respond in ways that sees the community work alongside the decision-makers in emergency preparedness, disaster relief and rebuilding efforts. Engineers, property developers, architects, city planners and bureaucrats are invited to participate in panel discussions with artists.
Shared Lines emerged out of the earthquake events that devastated Canterbury, New Zealand, and Fukushima, Japan in 2011. Shared Lines is now an established collective of artists and art producers that aim to promote artistic exchange between cities and use art to build resilient cities.
Thank you to our funders and sponsors; Creative New Zealand, Wellington City Council, Urban Dream Brokerage, Willis Bond & Co., Studio Pacific Architecture, Canyon Creative and Kinetic Digital.
Shared Lines: Wellington is being umbrellaed by the Wellington Independent Arts Trust.
Website: sharedlines.wordpress.com
Follow: Shared Lines: Wellington on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Other Events
Symposium: Adam Auditorium (City Gallery Wellington): 6pm Tuesday, 17 October
Yasuaki Igarashi's public artwork Sora-Ami: Knitting the Sky will be installed on Wellington Waterfront Lagoon
Contacts
Linda Lee
E: sharedlineswellington@gmail.com
P: 021 0222 6386
Mosaics and masks both have very long and rich histories. For thousands of years we have been wearing the guise of the unknown, a face of the imagined to relate messages and tell stories. Mosaic has throughout history been used to convey narrative, to teach us of past events and to enhance our environment with thoughtful detail.
Together we bring you our stories, our messages and a large dose of colour with our ‘ Mosaic & Mask ’ exhibition. A week of insight into the artist’s worlds and an opportunity to see and purchase original and unique creations.
Inspired by an obsession with florals, Natalie Parker, has spent the last year musing in her studio. Her introverted nature has drawn strength from her creativity to bring to life a body of work that is simply beautiful, uplifting and peaceful.
Through the use of painting, collage, mixed media and decorative furniture, Parker has created an environment where her floral musings flourish. This floral fiesta allows the audience to feel a sense of joy and beauty.
With over 90 works on display priced from $60, this show is bound to delight the senses of the most passionate floral enthusiasts. Throughout the exhibit Natalie will be doing daily live painting demonstrations at 11am which can also be viewed through her instagram @natalieparkerartist
The opening night on Tuesday 3rd October at 6pm is for invited guests only, however should you desire to attend please email Natalie at natalie@natalieparkerartist.com
For more information:
Instagram @natalieparkerartist
Too Much Truth will present posters, paintings, magazines, photographs and street art by over 35 sex trade abolitionist organisations, activists and artists worldwide – many of whom are survivors of sexual exploitation.
The display will include posters from Stígamót in Iceland, Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution, and photographs from Apne Aap in India, an organisation that helps save girls from a system of “hereditary” prostitution. Copies of feminist magazine off our backs will be available, as well as Spinifex press publications Prostitution Narratives and Radically Speaking.
All groups, artists and activists with work in Too Much Truth ask that prostitution and sex trade lobbying are considered critically, in light of testimonies offered by survivors, the disproportionate representation of poor and indigenous women, and the way the trade encourages men to use economic advantage to circumvent sexual consent. In short, abolitionists ask that we recognise the violently sexist, racist, capitalist and colonising nature of prostitution.
"Too Much Truth anticipates a review of New Zealand's Prostitution Reform Act (PRA), due next year. The PRA saw the pimping and purchase of women fully decriminalised in New Zealand in 2003, and a 2008 milestone report recommended a review be carried out in 2018."
Because the 'New Zealand Model' of prostitution reform is the legislative model favoured by pimps worldwide, women worldwide need a critical, legislative review to take place in New Zealand. This is what Too Much Truth asks for, by demonstrating that the sex trade is an industry that women in India to South Africa, Germany to Iceland and Canada to New Zealand are in fact imprisoned in, and fighting against for their lives – and for the freedom of all women.
Too Much Truth is dedicated to the legacy of Grace Molisa, ni-Vanuatu freedom fighter, feminist, poet, publisher, educator and abolitionist.