What’s On: January and February activities
Kick off the new year with some excellent artistic ventures.
Compiled by Ann Warnock
Home: One City, Many Culture
Dianna Thomson, Margaret Abbe Johns. South Sudan — Upper Hutt, (2022).
When: 16 December — long term
Where: Whirinaki Whare Taonga, Upper Hutt
Web: whirinakiarts.org.nz
Home examines the stories of 10 families who immigrated to Aotearoa and made the city of Upper Hutt their home. Through audio, video footage and photos, the families recount their personal journeys, challenges, struggles and successes and disclose the realities of leaving one home to create another in a new country. Home celebrates the families and cultures that make Upper Hutt a multicultural community.
Tidelines: Carol Bucknell and Sally Tagg
Sally Tagg, Wonder Woman, (2022).
When: 12 January to 11 February
Where: Waiheke Community Gallery
Web: waihekeartgallery.org.nz
Auckland-based photographic artist Sally Tagg and painter Carol Bucknell explore their connections to the sea and shorelines of Aotearoa in a show probing the holistic nature of New Zealanders’ place in the natural environment, the beauty of the coast and climate change. Includes photo montages and semi-abstract figurine paintings.
Hyperspace, Auckland Theatre Company
When: 7 to 24 February
Where: ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland
Web: atc.co.nz
The world premiere of award-winning writer Albert Belz’s play transports its audience back to New Zealand in 1990 and the cut and thrust of the NZ Aerobics Competition, where small-town Natalie must team up with haka queen Tāwhai for the mixed doubles. A story of dedication, whanau and friendship. Co-produced with Te Pou Theatre and choreographed by contemporary dancer Jack Gray.
Wellington Pasifika Festival
Atuhau Tupuhake Niue Culture Group.
When: 10 February
Where: Waitangi Park, Poneke Wellington Waterfront
Web: wellington.govt.nz/pasifika
A full immersion into the culture, performance and kai of Poneke Wellington’s Pasifika communities in a central-city setting with a celebratory programme of multicultural performers, Pasifika music, dance, art and traditional crafts.
Angela Lane: Phosphene
Path of the Sun, (2023).
When: To 18 February
Where: City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi
Web: citygallery.org.nz
New Zealand artist Angela Lane’s first exhibition in Aotearoa since returning from a decade in Berlin features about 20 works of atmospheric scenes. Lane’s celestial landscapes ask the viewer to look up and out and back to the history of artistic and scientific exploration into sky-bound phenomena.
Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on the Gulf 2024 — Anything Could Happen
Chris Moore, Introduced Species, (2022). Photo by Peter Rees Photography.
When: 24 February to 24 March
Where: Matiatia Coastal Walkway, Waiheke Island
Web: sotg.nz
The 20th year of Waiheke Island’s biennial two-kilometre art and sculpture coastal trail showcases a curated collection of works against the spectacular backdrop of Matiatia Bay and the Hauraki Gulf beyond.
Lumplandia: Becky Richard
Lumplandia, detail, (2023).
When: To 10 March
Where: The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt
Web: dowse.org.nz
An installation of organic forms by artist Becky Richards comprises fictional landscapes with ruins, ponds, tiny creatures and hillocks. Inspired by nature and its overlapping textures, tones and shapes, Lumplandia becomes an otherworldly experience for exploration.
Marilynn Webb: Folded in the Hills
Cloud Landscape 2 (1973).
When: 9 December to 7 April
Where: Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Web: dunedin.art.museum
The distinguished career of Marilynn Webb, Ngā Puhi, Te Roroa (1937 to 2021) is examined in a landmark survey of the artist’s works from the late 1960s to the early 2000s. Dedicated to exploring her deep connection to the whenua, feminism, conservation and social activism, Webb is acknowledged internationally for her innovation as a printmaker. Developed by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
In The Swim
Swimming in the Waikato River, unknown photographer, (c. 1920). March 2009.
When: To 28 April
Where: Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, Hamilton
Web: waikatomuseum.co.nz
The history of outdoor swimming in Kirikiriroa Hamilton is the focus of an exhibition featuring historical images of the city’s municipal pools and the Waikato River, a newly-commissioned lens-based artwork by Arts Foundation Springboard recipient Tia Barrett, an immersive diving pool experience, an insider’s perspective on the execution of a “reverse dive straight” and a showcase of retro swimwear.
Pictures and Other Works
Philip Clairmont, Erotic Couch, (1977).
When: To 3 June
Where: MTG Hawke’s Bay, Napier
Web: mtghawkesbay.com
Billy Apple, Dick Frizzell, Jono Rotman, Martin Poppelwell, Philip Clairmont and Robyn Kahukiwa are among the artists represented in a celebratory showcase of 20 diverse works purchased by the MTG Foundation. The exhibition includes contemporary and historical paintings, sculpture, ceramics and photographic art.
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This article first appeared in NZ Life & Leisure Magazine.
