Posts from the ‘South Auckland’ category

#31WriteNow Day 15: Auckland and the PAA

on August 19, 2013

Photo by Sean Atavenitia

I got a reminder the other day that I’ve been blogging with WordPress for seven years. I found my first post on my first blog and see that whilst so much has evolved, my politics are relatively unchanged.

I’ve received food and emails, text messages and phone calls to offer support and comfort after a week of word wars generated from my outspoken commentary of things that happened at the Pacific Arts Association (PAA) 11th International Symposium. I’ve spoken at length with my friends and family about loyalties, change, challenge and values. Accountability to audiences and funders has been thoroughly scrutinised in the past two weeks both online and off.

The next PAA International Symposium will take place in three years time in Auckland, a compelling context to this forum of dialogue. In various conversations with members of the PAA Executive Committee, I’ve expressed excitement for the fact that Auckland has the potential to make Aotearoa’s Pacific community visible and truly relevant. With the Pacific on Auckland’s doorstep, the next PAA International Symposium also has the potential to draw on the real movers and shakers of the Pacific art world, those who locate their practices, thinking and loyalties in the Pacific proper, and within the realm of Pacific people.

I watched Associate Professor Damon Salesa from the University of Auckland deliver a groundbreaking public presentation earlier this year. He introduced the notion of segregation within the consideration of Auckland as a Pacific city. His presentation exposed the heart and nerves of Pacific Island struggle, representation and social development in Aotearoa. Read more here.

In a recent interview for The Pantograph Punch, Samoan writer Daniel Satele referenced Salesa’s idea of social segregation with regards to my efforts to privilege Pacific audiences in the presentation of Pacific art and ideas. Having my position and curatorial practice questioned and abused over the past few days, I feel even more comfort in knowing that understanding, serving and feeding into the social development of Pacific people is where my heart and energies lie.

The next PAA International Symposium in Auckland will be great; I’m not sure if it’s the right forum for me, but I can certainly see a lively and robust programme of complementary events that will undoubtedly secure Auckland’s rightful place as a hub for Pacific art production, appreciation and dialogue.

#31WriteNow Day 13: Support + Love in #SouthAuckland

on August 16, 2013

I don’t log into Facebook under the personal profile page that my partner and I share very often, but when I do I see updates from an amazing organisation here in South Auckland called Sands Manukau. Having experienced the loss of our baby last year, Sands Manukau provided some of the most significant support during a period of horrific heartbreak. I see their updates and think of the amazing generosity and strength of the people who work for this cause.

The blog wars and art hype that has created unprecedented traffic and dialogue on my website over the past few days represents time and energy invested in a marginal area of my life. Art is a luxury I fit in and around caring about things like cooking, growing food, paying bills, rats in my roof, writing assignments for my Master of Arts Management degree, family politics…

In my day I think about people who work for people in need, people who do what they can, like the hummingbird. I think about the local government election hoardings on every fence line in my neighbourhood and wonder whether local body politics is in any way engaging Pacific young people to feel included in governance and power structures.

Being away from South Auckland made me grateful for the little things, like hearing Pacific music and language on the radio all day and that events like the launch of Samoan writer, Lani Wendt Young‘s third and highly anticipated book, The Bone Bearer is taking place this weekend in Manukau.


When I court art controversy, I think about all the times I’ve sat around advisory tables feeding into decisions that affect whether people get funding and opportunities. I know my actions carry consequences and there will always be people who invest time and energy in discussing the credibility of my work and position. Whilst bridges burn, the river changes course and new pathways emerge, i.e. new doors are always opening for me and I move in time with my heart – doing work that I believe is important.

In a nutshell, I’m happy to be back in South Auckland.

Vinaka vakalevu Daniel Satele & Team @PantographPunch

on July 19, 2013

Thank you, vinaka vakalevu Daniel Satele and the team at
The Pantograph Punch

I really appreciate this interview that Samoan writer, Daniel Satele pursued with me. It’s the first time I’ve discussed my position and politics with another Pacific artist and writer working in Auckland, Aotearoa. His introductory words are really moving, and affirm to me why it’s so important to encourage Pacific artists and writers to make commentary, using their privileged position of Pacific insight, on other Pacific art makers and activity. Click here to read the full interview

This interview comes at a feverishly busy point in the #2girls1conference fundraising journey! Leilani Kake are two weeks away from leaving for Vancouver to present our papers at the Pacific Arts Association 11th International Symposium at the University of British Columbia. Click here to check out the massive programme of speakers and activities.

Next week is the #2girls1conference Art Auction where we’ll be auctioning off generously donated works from a pretty impressive range of contemporary artists! All welcome – the event kicks off at 6pm at Te Karanga Gallery, Level 1, 208 Karangahape Road in central Auckland!

Check out the #2girls1conference Art Auction online catalogue

8-string Rimu ukulele by Clinton Hewett
Pimp My Trishaw Series #1 – Homage to My Homegirls” (2013) by Nicole Lim
“Decolonise Your Tongue” by M. McHale & L. Tora
“Maori Minx” (2011) by Czarina Wilson
“Dark Horses” (2013) by Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden
“Mata nui” (2012) by Margaret Aull
“Palatavake Flag” (2013) by Benjamin Work
“Otara at Night” video stills (2011) by Rebecca Ann Hobbs
“Peter + William” (2012) by Tanu Gago
“Unsettled Earth Pylon City” (2006) by Ema Tavola
“Pataka 2.0” (2013) by Martin Langdon
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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Martin Langdon

Pataka 2.0 framed

Martin Langdon

Title: Pataka 2.0
Date: 2013
Edition: Artist Proof
Medium: Dry-point Etch on Archival Paper
Dimensions: 330x435mm [framed]

Artist Statement

The Pataka 2.0 dry-point etch series is a extension of my ‘Piri Āporo’ project which looked at ‘glocalised’ campaigns, in particular supermarkets that utilise Maori cultural elements to appear of local orientation. The outward investigation of how others appropriate what was assumed open source material produced work that utilised ‘face value’ and stereotypes. The extension of this project became an inward evaluation of my relationship to supermarkets – the dependency traps, the dislocation from where food comes from, the values embedded in knowing your food and the land that sustains us.

I have hope for the future as contemporary culture is trending towards community gardens, localized markets, gardens in homes and schools.

Bio

Martin Awa Clarke Langdon (Tainui) is a South Auckland-based multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the tensions and opportunities of bi-cultural duality and the third space. Langdon has recently shown in group exhibitions, Ngaru Rua curated by Gabrielle Belz for Nathan Homestead, South Auckland and Mana for Jam at Toi Pōneke Gallery, Wellington. His solo exhibition Dysfunctional Harmony at Papakura Art Gallery in January 2013, presented a series of works and ideas explored during his Postgraduate Diploma of Fine Arts undertaken at the University of Auckland in 2012.

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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden

Dark Horses detail 2
"Dark Horses" (2013) by Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden
“Dark Horses” (2013) by Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden
Dark Horses detail 1

Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden

Title: Dark Horses [triptych]
Date: 2013
Medium: Collage on Archival Paper
Dimensions: 330x435mm [framed]

Artist Statement

In my current practice I explore the ideas of sex, sexuality and surface through the use of collage. By collecting, selecting and arranging disparate imagery sourced from pornographic magazines I further twist and contort these bodies and emancipated parts to further emphasize the rawness and callous nature of pornographic sex.

These images have been cut, bruised, decapitated, scanned, printed then pasted resulting in distinct qualities and shocking forms. There is a familiarity attached to these images; they are something, yet nothing. They both give and they take. The then reproduction of these images emphasizes the superficial qualities of a surface; the things we see and touch. The bodies that you see before you are frozen in a moment of titillation and vulgarity carved from a previous context in order to create another.

Bio

Kerrie-Anne Van Heerden is a recent graduate from the Faculty of Creative Arts at Manukau Institute of Technology in South Auckland. She holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts and is currently completing a Master of Arts Management degree at AUT University. In addition to her exhibition practice, Van Heerden is an active member of the Youth Art Committee at Artstation Toi Tu, Auckland Council’s community art centre in Ponsonby.

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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Tanu Gago

Peter + William (2012) by Tanu Gago

Tanu Gago

Title: Peter + William
Date: 2012
Edition: Artist Proof
Series: Avanoa O Tama
Medium: Photographic Print on Archival Crystal Matte
Dimensions: 841x594mm

Artist Statement

As a Pacific Gay Male I have struggled over time to identify a clear distinction of Pacific masculinity I feel comfortable relating to. Searching for a cohesive sense of self and a recognizable sense of presence within the world we occupy, has lead me to this point in my artistic journey.

The Avanoa O Tama series presents a visual narrative that observes, critiques and articulates Pacific male identity in all its forms and with all its complexity, looking at the performance of our own unique perception of what it means to be a Pacific Male in the 21st century.

Bio

Born in Samoa and raised in Manukau City, Tanu Gago belongs to a large family with a diverse cultural background. Gago draws on his unique perspective and life in South Auckland to make art that directly engages with urban social issues including the fluid nature of ethnic and gender identities. Gago held his first solo exhibition, YOU LOVE MY FRESH at Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts in 2010 and later developed his first photographic series, Jerry the Fa’afafine (In The Manner of a Samoan Man) for Mana Takatāpui: Taera Tāne curated by Reuben Friend for City Gallery Wellington in 2011. His follow-up series, Avanoa O Tama was developed for a solo exhibition at Fresh Gallery Otara in South Auckland and went on to be shown as part of Home AKL at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in 2012. Gago’s work features in private and public collections including Auckland Council, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and University of Auckland. He holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts majoring in Directing for Film & Television from Unitec.

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#2girls1conference Art Auction: Rebecca Ann Hobbs

Otara At Night by Rebecca Ann Hobbs

Rebecca Ann Hobbs

Title: Otara at Night
Date: 2011
Edition: 2/10
Series: From a series of video works shot in South Auckland spaces, influenced by dance.
Medium: Lightjet Print
Dimensions: 330x250mm

Artist Statement

Occupying the Fairmall stage, in Otara, late at night. Otara at Night is part of a series of video works shot in South Auckland spaces, influenced by dance. Dancehall refers to a genre of music that originates from Jamaica, but it is also a term that indicates an entire culture in which music, dance, fashion and community collide. For example the more flamboyant and dexterous a dancehall queen’s performance the more she is able to represent her hood at a “Sound Clash”[1] event. Social and political change is the platform from which dancehall culture evolved; a change in politics from Manley’s PNP to Seaga’s JLP created shifts in the local economic structure of Jamaica. This movement allowed people to start advancing out of the confines of their previously prescribed socioeconomic status. Again the aforementioned dancehall queen can maintain her own beauty business during the week and perform at the “Sound Clash” on the weekend, dressed in the full dancehall regalia that her small business finances. In this moving image work we watch a South Auckland queen take Otara as her stage to perform her nocturnal dance. This video work is intended as a celebration of dancehall and the reinterpretation of culture through site.

Video by: Rebecca Ann Hobbs
Dancer: Amelia Lynch
With Help From: Tanu Gago, Leilani Kake, Graeme Marshall and Ema Tavola.

[1] Sound clash – a musical competition where crew members from opposing dancehall sound systems pit their skills against each other.

Bio

Australian born Rebecca Ann Hobbs is a contemporary fine art practitioner and currently academic staff at the Manukau Institute of Technology in Otara, Auckland. Working with new media to create video and still images that address issues around class, gender and race. Hobbs has been selected to participate in many international exhibitions at notable institutes such as; the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen in Germany, the Centre Pompidou in France and the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia. In 2002 Hobbs received the Australian Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship, allowing her to undertake tertiary education at the California Institute of the Arts, where she completed a Masters in Fine Arts in 2005.

Back to #2girls1conference Art Auction Online Catalogue

#GROUNDED Festival of Sustainable Arts, #Otara

on July 2, 2013

Leilani Kake and I had a stall at the GROUNDED Festival of Sustainable Arts pop-up market last weekend, hosted by Manukau Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Creative Arts in Otara, South Auckland.

The #2girls1conference fundraising campaign t-shirt is designed by senior student, Tepora Malo, currently studying to complete a Bachelor of Creative Arts. Tepora undertook an internship with Leilani and I on the #2girls1conference campaign, overseeing the process of crowdfunding, social media marketing and leading the design and hand-printing of the limited edition t-shirt.

Tepora’s design employed a complex printing process that presented a fairly massive learning curve for all involved! The outcome is gorgeous and represents multiple hours of trial and error, laughs, sweat and tears!

We produced a limited range of 70 t-shirts and 20 canvas tote bags – both are selling fast; sales enquiries can be directed to Ema using the Contact page here.

The PIMPI fans are seasonally misguided, but on sale for NZ$60.

Images courtesy of MIT Faculty of Creative Arts.

#2girls1conference Limited Edition Art T-shirts, proudly made in #SouthAuckland!

Leilani Kake and my fundraising efforts to get to the Pacific Arts Association International Symposium in August are gaining real momentum!

A 25-day campaign on the New Zealand crowdfunding website, PledgeMe was an enormous success – we were overwhelmed with the support from our communities and networks on and offline. This initial fundraising effort attracted over $4000 of support which covers the bulk of our return airfares to Canada! A HUGE Thank You to everyone who pledged, shared, liked and retweeted to support our cause.

Part of our fundraising effort has been the design and production of a limited edition art t-shirt which we were able to hand-print using the excellent facilities at Manukau Institute of Technology. Tepora Malo, a third year student studying at the Faculty of Creative Arts worked as our intern on the project – we all learned a lot about the four color printing process and talked for long hours about art making and money making. Otara artist, activist and recent graduate, Amiria Puia-Taylor was our first choice to model the t-shirt for us. Her position on community awareness and artistic empowerment is particularly refreshing and she definitely represents the concept of REAL TALK! We also benefited from the very promising expertise of first year student, Sean Atavenitia who created our promotional photography. The whole initiative has been a really rewarding, Made in South Auckland experience!

The limited edition #2girls1conference art t-shirt is on sale now for $50!

We also have a limited amount of canvas shoulder bags for $30 and $15 repurposed jumbo tote bags from the slightly imperfect printed t-shirts!

Come find us at the GROUNDED Festival of Sustainable Arts Pop-Up Market from 10am – 5pm on Saturday 29 June, 50 Lovegrove Crescent, Otara, South Auckland, or click here to submit a sales enquiry.

Massive Support for #2girls1conference

on June 8, 2013

We’re blown away with the support for the #2girls1conference campaign currently running on PledgeMe!

Every dollar pledged is helping Leilani Kake and I with travel and participation costs for the 11th International Symposium of the Pacific Arts Association in Vancouver this coming August! We’re less than $500 away from hitting our crowdfunding target with 12 days still to go. We’re hoping the #2girls1conference campaign (including crowdfunding, art t-shirt and auction) will generate a minimum of $6000 in total, so every dollar we make on PledgeMe effectively takes a little bit of pressure off our other fundraising initiatives.


We’ve had a great week generating awareness for what we’re doing; on Tuesday, Adrian Evans‘ piece in the Manukau Courier was published. We were reminiscing about our 2009 lecture tour to California and smiling about how many times we refresh the browser permanently open on PledgeMe!

On Wednesday we joined Yolande Ah Chong, the excellent and thoroughly conscious and informed host of Radio531pi‘s Breakfast with Lande show to discuss art making, Pacific audiences, leadership and crowdfunding. It was an awesome opportunity to really thrash out some of the principles and beliefs we have about why Pacific art and South Auckland are important.

The #2girls1conference T-shirt is getting lovingly hand-printed next week using Manukau Institute of Technology’s excellent print studio facilities at the Faculty of Creative Arts. Tepora Malo, a third year student completing the Bachelor of Creative Arts programme, has been an excellent collaborator and intern on this project. We’re excited to be working under her leadership in the printing process.


And we’re absolutely humbled by the generosity of our artist friends who have committed works for our auction! We have some AMAZING pieces that have been part of recent South Auckland and Pacific Art History! A stunning large scale unframed photograph by Tanu Gago, part of his Avanoa o Tama (2012) series and a beautiful suite of video stills from Rebecca Ann Hobbs’ work, Otara at Night. Painters Margaret Aull and Nigel Borell have also donated works and the invitation to make or donate works for the cause also inspired this beautiful collaboration between Molly Rangiwai McHale and Luisa Tora!

Every dollar raised in the #2girls1conference campaign is making us feel more and more excited and empowered knowing that our papers at the Pacific Arts Association in August are supported with massive love and investment from our networks!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

To keep up to date on #2girls1conference campaign and our journey to the PAA, connect on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to PimpiKnows.com for email updates!