Archive for June, 2009
Christchurch Students Revel in Tautai Workshops
Talented Pacific students from Christchurch schools a reaping the benefits of “Fresh Horizons”, a series of workshops organised by the Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust. The workshops are led by prominent South Island artists including Victor Rodger (playwright), Johnny Penisula (stone carver), Raphael Stowers (carver), and Kulimoe’anga ‘Stone’ Maka (painter). The workshops are being held at Christchurch’s Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) and are part of a nation-wide series organised by the Tautai Trust to develop the talent of young Pacific artists.
Victor Rodger conducts a writing workshop with Christchurch students. Image courtesy of Pasifika Team, CPIT.
Kulimoe'anga 'Stone' Maka assists a student at the 'Fresh Horizons' workshop.
Raphael Stowers demonstrates a carving technique at the Tautai Trust workshop in Christchurch.
Pacific Underground presents ‘Pacific Roots South’
Christchurch-based outfit Pacific Underground will present a celebration of South Island Pasifika and Ol’ school music on Saturday 11 July 2009. The evening will feature local reggae and island bands Niu Sei Lah, D’sendantz, and Vela, DJs Soul Master Cee and DJ Ali, and special guests ‘Koile’ (Samoan/Cook Island and Tokelauan reggae band from Dunedin). ‘Pacific Roots South’ plays at the Bedford, on the corner of Bedford Row and Madras St from 8 pm till late. Tickets are $10 at the door. Pacific Underground is the driving force behind much of Christchurch’s Pacific artistic talent.
Jerry Taukamo, Jason JJ Otene, and Marcel Bramau of Dsendantz. Image courtesy of Pacific Underground.
Koile at this year's Parihaka Peace Festival. Image courtesy of Pacific Underground.
Creative New Zealand Seeks Nominees for 2009 Arts Pasifika Awards
Creative New Zealand has released the guidelines and nomination form for the 2009 Arts Pasifika Awards. A total of $28,000 will be awarded in five categories. These include the Senior Pacific Artists’ Award ($10,000), the Pacific Heritage Arts Award ($5,000), the Pacific Contemporary Arts Award ($5,000), and the Iosefa Enari Memorial Award ($4,000). The fifth award is the Emerging Pacific Artists’ Award ($4,000) and recognises an emerging artist or group that shows promise and potential in their chosen art form. The deadline for nominations is 5pm, Friday July 17th, 2009. Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Creative New Zealand website.
Stone Hits Christchurch with Stunning Fumage Art
Kulimoe’anga ‘Stone’ Maka has enthralled the Christchurch public with his first collection of fumed art. Stone uses ngatu ‘uli, an ancient Tongan technique of bark cloth colouring to “smoke” his canvas. The result is a captivating fusion of colours and motifs derived entirely from the manipulation of objects, plants, and smoke. Explaining his art to his audience, Stone recently quipped “when you come to see my work, you also come to smell it”. Stone is the 2009 Artist in Residence at the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury. This collection has been exhibiting at the COCA Gallery in Christchurch. Stone is currently joining other South Island Pacific artists in tutoring secondary school artists as part of a Tautai Fresh Horizons workshop (29 June - 1 July, 2009).
"Ofo" by Kulimoe'anga 'Stone' Maka. Smoke on Canvas. Image courtesy of COCA Gallery
Banana Boat Writers to Hear About Creative Screenwriting
Members of “Banana Boat”, a collective of Pasifika Writers based in Auckland, will this month hear about Victoria University’s Creative Screenwriting Course. The presentation will be led by Niuean playwright Arnette Arapai. Arnette is the only Pasifika student currently enrolled in the course. The course is offered by the Institute of Modern Letters and has previously served as a launch pad by Pasifika writers such as Tusiata Avia. The Banana Boat collective is comprised mainly of Pasifika playwrights and meets once a month to hear presentations and to read and discuss new scripts. The next meeting is on Thursday 25 June 2009 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the funky Toi Ora Live Art Trust Studio, 6 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn. For more information, see the collective’s websites at http://www.bebo.com/pasifikawriters and http://bananaboatnz.blogspot.com/.
“Young, Gifted & Samoan” Screens in Otara
Film and art lovers and members of the public will be treated to Dionne Fonoti’s first film “Young, Gifted & Samoan” on Saturday 20 June 2009. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film maker. This event is part of Janet Lilo’s exhibition “MyFace” which is currently showing at the Fresh Gallery Otara in South Auckland.
Image courtesy of Fresh Gallery Otara
MYFACE: A Solo Exhibition by Janet Lilo
With her exhibition “My Face”, award-winning Maori-Niuean-Samoan artist Janet Lilo presents an exploration of provocative photography that comes straight out of popular culture via the web through social networking platforms. The photographs provide a serious reflection on the preoccupation people have with self-representation and editing their identity. This exhibition is part of the Auckland Festival of Photography and runs at the Fresh Gallery Otara from 12 June to 14 July 2009. Due to Janet Lilo’s recent appointment as the 2009 JENESYS Artist in Residence in Sapporo, Japan, the artist’s talk has been replaced by a screening of “Young, Gifted & Samoan”, a 23-minute film by Dionne Fonoti about three Samoan youth living and creating music in San Francisco. The film will be followed by question time with the film maker. This premiere event takes place at the Fresh Gallery Otara on Saturday 20 June 2009 from 12 – 1.30 pm.
Janet Lilo, MySpace photo montage, couresy of the artist and MySpace
