The No.8 Wire - Issue 31

Gondwanaland Ministry of Culture
Artists' Information Bureau

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An Electronic Alert for 838 of Wellington's Creative People
Tail-end Octo-numerical Interview: Seth Fraser



31.00
LOST TIMES, TEA AND BISCUITS, THE POWER OF MEMORY
Excerpt from Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past

Undoubtedly what is thus palpitating in the depths of my being must be the image, the visual memory which, being linked to that taste, has tried to follow it into my conscious mind. But its struggles are too far off, too much confused; scarcely can I perceive the colourless reflection in which are blended the uncapturable whirling medley of radiant hues, and I cannot distinguish its form, cannot invite it, as the one possible interpreter, to translate to me the evidence of its contemporary, its inseparable paramour, the taste of cake soaked in tea; cannot ask it to inform me what special circumstance is in question, of what period in my past life.

Will it ultimately reach the clear surface of my consciousness, this memory, this old, dead moment which the magnetism of an identical moment has travelled so far to importune, to disturb, to raise up out of the very depths of my being? I cannot tell. Now that I feel nothing, it has stopped, has perhaps gone down again into its darkness, from which who can say whether it will ever rise? Ten times over I must essay the task, must lean down over the abyss. And each time the natural laziness which deters us from every difficult enterprise, every work of importance, has urged me to leave the thing alone, to drink my tea and to think merely of the worries of to-day and of my hopes for to-morrow, which let themselves be pondered over without effort or distress of mind.

And suddenly the memory returns. The taste was that of the little crumb of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before church-time), when I went to say good day to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of real or of lime-flower tea. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it; perhaps because I had so often seen such things in the interval, without tasting them, on the trays in pastry-cooks' windows, that their image had dissociated itself from those Combray days to take its place among others more recent; perhaps because of those memories, so long abandoned and put out of mind, nothing now survived, everything was scattered; the forms of things, including that of the little scallop-shell of pastry, so richly sensual under its severe, religious folds, were either obliterated or had been so long dormant as to have lost the power of expansion which would have allowed them to resume their place in my consciousness. But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.

And once I had recognized the taste of the crumb of madeleine soaked in her decoction of lime-flowers which my aunt used to give me (although I did not yet know and must long postpone the discovery of why this memory made me so happy) immediately the old grey house upon the street, where her room was, rose up like the scenery of a theatre to attach itself to the little pavilion, opening on to the garden, which had been built out behind it for my parents (the isolated panel which until that moment had been all that I could see); and with the house the town, from morning to night and in all weathers, the Square where I was sent before luncheon, the streets along which I used to run errands, the country roads we took when it was fine. And just as the Japanese amuse themselves by filling a porcelain bowl with water and steeping in it little crumbs of paper which until then are without character or form, but, the moment they become wet, stretch themselves and bend, take on colour and distinctive shape, become flowers or houses or people, permanent and recognisable, so in that moment all the flowers in our garden and in M. Swann's park, and the water-lilies on the Vivonne and the good folk of the village and their little dwellings and the parish church and the whole of Combray and of its surroundings, taking their proper shapes and growing solid, sprang into being, town and gardens alike, all from my cup of tea.

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31.01
WOW ME, WOW YOURSELF

Wellington Welcomes World of WearableArt with an Excessive Accessories Street Parade

Wellington City Council plans to welcome the Montana World of WearableArt Awards to town and celebrate the creativity in this city with a colourful and imaginative street parade. We’re looking for community artists and designers to register their interest in creating a work of art to be part of the parade.

The parade will be held at lunchtime on the opening day of the Montana World of WearableArt Awards on Friday 23 September when the city will be buzzing with excitement with many visitors and media will also be in town.

Excessive Accessories
The theme is about enhancing and exaggerating accessories in wild and wonderful ways and turning them into pieces of art. Everyday we use bags, suitcases and hats, and we ornament our body with jewellery, hats and scarves – this theme is a chance to recreate these ideas but in a much larger, colourful and wacky way!

One of the key aspects of this theme is size – the pieces must be over-sized, possibly even worn by more than one person. A giant hat containing an entire Wellington cityscape could be worn by two people. A huge suitcase may run on wheels and themed with travel concepts. A beautiful walking stick could be two metres tall and embellished with lots of items found on the seashore.

The works need to have impact from a distance so designers will need to think about colour and scale to create this effect.

How It Works
You need to come up with an idea based on the theme and then submit a sketch of your design on the attached form. A panel will then select 100 works to be created for the parade based on the designs. Wellington City Council will contribute $75 towards materials for each selected design (to be paid on provision of tax receipts).

Artists/designers are welcome to work as individuals or groups.

Some works will also be selected for an exhibition at the new Arts Centre in Abel Smith St after the parade.

Please email jessica.garland@wcc.govt.nz or call 801 3876 to get a copy of the design submission form.

Construction
The Excessive Accessories must be ‘worn’ in the parade. The route will take around 25 minutes to walk and must be lightweight, sturdy and safe to wear. Designers must provide their own person(s) to wear the work in the parade.

Parade Details
12.45pm Friday 23 September (Rain day Saturday 24 September)
Parade route: Parliament – Lambton Quay – Willis Street – Mercer – Civic Square.

World of WearableArt
From its beginnings in Nelson in 1987, creator Suzie Moncrieff’s unique concept of ‘taking art off the walls and adorning the moving body in wildy wonderful ways’™ has given thousands of designers in New Zealand and the world the inspiration to create amazing works of WearableArt. Wellington is very proud to host the Montana WOW™ Awards – an eight-show season held at the Events Centre from Friday 23 September.

For more info visit www.worldofwearableart.com

Höglang Art Glass Wellington will provide beautiful pieces of glass art the three most imaginative Excessive Accessories on the day.

Timeline
Final date for registration and sketch submission
Friday 5pm 17 June
Designers/artists advised of selection
Friday 24 June
Works due for parade preparation
Friday 9 September

This is a joint initiative between World of WearableArt and Wellington City Council. If you would like more information please contact:
Jessica Garland
jessica.garland@wcc.govt.nz
04 801 3876

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31.02
MONTH OF MUSIC
Starts now…

http://www.nzmusic.org.nz/

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31.03
ARO ART

Upcoming exhibitions at 91 Aro Street:

MONOPHONIC ENSEMBLE OF POLYCHROMATIC ECLECTICISM
selected work 1995 - 2005 by Mark Whyte 27 april - 8 may

Mark Whyte is a NZ artist working in the field of painting and similar since the late 70's. A regular exhibitor, his work is held in various private collections both in NZ and overseas. He describes his approach to making art as 'delighting in experimentation, a desire to see new stuff and exercising the visual chords'.

RHETORIC THAT DOESN`T MATCH REALITY
handmade books and photographs by Rick Jensen 11 - 22 may
preview: 5:00pm 9 april

www.aroarts.org.nz
91 Aro Street, Aro Valley, Wellington

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31.04
MANAWA TAKI

NEW AT THE MICHAEL HIRSCHFELD GALLERY @ CITY GALLERY WELLINGTON

Manawa taki - the pulsing heart, a group exhibition at the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery is now on and features the work of contemporary Maori artists. The exhibition includes work by Chelsea Gough, Hemi Macgregor, Matthew McIntyre Wilson, Rachael Rakena, Ngataiharuru Taepa, Taika Waititi and Wayne Youle.

A highlight of Manawa taki is the inclusion of Taika Waititi’s Oscar-nominated short film ‘Two Cars, One Night’. Waititi's film is only 11 minutes long, and is screening on a loop, so you've got heaps of time to grab a coffee at Nikau and catch the film in your lunch break.

Entry to Manawa taki is free. The gallery is open every day from 10am - 5pm. The show runs until May 15.

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31.05
TE WHAEA, SOON

Coming to Te Whaea shortly:

Battles of the Heart 31 May - 4 June - War through the eyes of extraordinary everyday people, performed by second year actors at St Andrew's Church Hall, 30 The Terrace. The show is produced in association with Gaylene Preston Productions and includes monologues from the film War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us and Alison Parr's book Silent Casualties, as well as scenes from Allen O'Leary's play Fond Love and Kisses.

Slaves to the Rhythm - Choreographic Season 17 - 25 June - Slaves to the Rhythm brings together New Zealand's most outstanding percussionists STRIKE and 2nd & 3rd year contemporary dance students from the New Zealand School of Dance. Find yourself at the mercy of the driving rhythm.

The Chekhov Season 9 - 13 September - The second year class of actors is split into two groups - each group will perform a different show each night - one group will perform Chekhov's The Seagull (a comedy with three female parts, six male parts, a landscape, much talk about literature, and five tons of love) while the other performs Anne Bogart's Small Lives Big Dreams (a play about memory that examines how characters in Chekhov's plays are haunted by the past while attempting to look forward).

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31.06
BARBARIANS RULE

http://www.barbarian.co.nz/

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31.07
NOTES FROM THE FILM UNDERGROUND

Kia Ora, Hi,

I have a self-funded short that I start filming on DV in the July school holidays in Welly. There's still a few crew positions up for grabs (if you can put this on the site), namely: Costume Designer/Wardrobe person (to make a leprechaun outfit), 1st A.D., grip, Unit Manager, Location Scout, Continuity, Clapper Loader, and if anyone has a courier-type van we could use, that'd be great. Skite sheets to:

Ki Aura Films,
PO Box 27264
Marion Square.

Cheers,
Zac Lucas
Director

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31.08
CITY VISION? ADD YOURS

http://www.wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/publicinput/draftannualplan_overview.html

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31.09
ADD SOME COLOUR

A message from Colourful Connections…

Hi again to all multiculturally flavoured artists and craftspeople!

This month’s meeting of Colourful Connections was held on Wednesday night, with a colourful and enthusiastic bunch of artists from all over NZ and the world!  Particular arts opportunities we discussed were:

Tutors required for school holiday arts programmes for refugee families.  If anyone wishes to donate an hour or so of their time in the next school holidays to pass on some art or craft skills to teenagers and young people, please contact Penny Bond on 918 9589.

Affordable Art – a reminder for anyone wishing to have work in this July’s major art sale, that registrations of interest need to be submitted by May 1.  See the website, www.affordableart.co.nz, for details.

Excessive Accessories Street Parade – this WCC initiative is a street parade and exhibition in September to welcome Wearable Arts to Wellington, and they are looking for 100 artists or groups to submit sketch designs for amazing oversized accessories (eg hats, scarves, bags, umbrellas, cloaks, etc etc etc).  For more information contact Jessica Garland on 801 3876, or email jessica.garland@wcc.govt.nz , or come along to our next Colourful Connections meeting, where we will be working on a group design to submit.  Ideas need to be submitted by June 17, and successful designs will be awarded $75 to go towards materials.

Unicef exhibition: Laure Thibaux is organizing a charity art sale for later in the year and is looking for artists to donate work for sale, profits to go to Unicef.  This is an opportunity to get your name and work out there in the art collecting community – for more information come to next month’s Colourful Connections meeting, or contact Laure directly on 934 4960.

See you all next time at Vincents Art Workshop, Level 4, 84 Willis St, Wellington.  Wednesday May 25, 6-8pm. Everyone is welcome.

Cheers
Lucy
lucy.moore@xtra.co.nz

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31.10
STRING THEORY

Hot Young Strings hit the road…

A string ensemble of Wellington’s finest young musicians, Hot Young Strings, is performing three concerts in the Lower North Island in May 2005.

The musicians, aged from 19-23, are all advanced performance majors at the New Zealand School of Music (NZSM). Most are already performing professionally in New Zealand and entering exciting musical careers.

Conducted by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Associate Concertmaster Donald Armstrong, the concerts, in Wellington, Greytown and Paekakariki, are set to delight a diverse group of music-lovers.

“It will be exciting to take the baton and introduce these incredibly talented young musicians and audiences to these great pieces, which are all favourites of mine,” says Mr Armstrong.

“The programme includes Prelude and Scherzo for Octet by a young Shostakovich, a New Zealand premier performance of David Farquhar’s beautiful Serenade for String Orchestra, two delightful slavic Waltzes by Antonin Dvorak, and the lyrical Serenade for Strings by Josef Suk. “

Hot Young Strings leader, Malavika Gopal, says the members of the group are passionate about the music they will be performing.

“We all love the music—it’s exciting to be able to perform such a unique programme. It’s music that you don’t get to hear live very often, especially the Octet, which is very rare. We’re looking forward to going on tour and sharing the music with a wide variety of people.”

The concerts are part of an ongoing series of events organised by the NZSM (brochure of events is available at www.nzsm.ac.nz). Since January, Victoria University and Massey University have been operating the joint NZSM, a centre of musical excellence.

For more information on Hot Young Strings, contact:
Donald Armstrong, 04 380 8928, 021 1682165, dwarmstrong@paradise.net.nz or Malavika Gopal, 04 977 5476 or chinnu97@gmail.com

Hot Young Strings
Sunday, 1 May, 3.00pm Kuranui College Hall, Greytown
Saturday, 7 May, 7.30pm, Adam Concert Hall, Victoria University, Kelburn Parade
Sunday, 8 May, 7.00pm, Paekakariki Memorial Hall
Tickets $15 and $10 for students. Contact Pip Want on 463 5369.

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31.11
GALLERY MOVE

Bartley Nees Gallery will soon move from its decade-old location at147 Cuba Street. The next opening will be in the new location at 2 Blair Street on the corner of Blair and Wakefield Streets on May 20.

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31.12
AFFORDABILITY

NZ’s largest and most affordable art show builds on previous success

For artists who know they are good enough to be hung in public but haven’t convinced a gallery to provide a space on the wall, the New Zealand Affordable Art Show offers the chance to be in the largest art exhibition this country has ever seen.

For art appreciators who would love an original piece of quality New Zealand art in their home or office but quail at the price tag, the New Zealand Affordable Art Show offers a treasure chest of choices to suit their pocket.

The bringing together of carefully selected, affordable paintings, sculpture, ceramics, glasswork and multi-media with the appreciative public is the brainchild of a Wellington charitable trust which ran the inaugural New Zealand Affordable Art Show at the Wellington Events Centre at Queen’s Wharf last year.

The three-day event last year featured about 3500 artworks from 600 established, new and emerging artists from all over the country - including two from the Chatham Islands - at prices between $100 and $5000. About 6000 people viewed the exhibition which ended with 800 pieces sold at an average price of $493 – a total $395,000.

“It is our mission to foster the idea that art is for everyone,” New Zealand Affordable Art Trust chair Jo Hughes said.

“Last year the response was way beyond what we imagined. Many people walked away with their first-ever piece of original art under their arm. Many artists sold their first piece of art and many were scouted by art connoisseurs and received phone calls from gallery owners.

“We are now confident in establishing the show as an annual event. This year we anticipate exhibiting an even greater number of artworks from up to 800 contributing artists. We want to increase the geographical distribution of participating artists, particularly from the Auckland region, by aligning ourselves with the arts schools there, as we did in Wellington last year.

The New Zealand Affordable Art Trust is calling for artists to register before May 1 for the 2005 show which will be held at the Events Centre from July 22-24, following a gala evening on July 21. Already 350 artists have registered. Selection of artworks takes place in early June.

Entry details are available on the New Zealand Affordable Art Show website www.affordableart.co.nz or from Executive Director Carla Russell (04) 472 7652.

Contact:
New Zealand Affordable Art Trust
Executive Director
Carla Russell
(04) 472 7652
027 244 8090
Email: carla@affordableart.co.nz

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31.13
LAUGHING IN YOUR GUINESS

'The Green Room' Vanue: upstairs at Kitty O'Sheas on Courtenay Place, Wellington, NZ.

Dates and times: The first showcase of Wellington's newest comedy talent will take place on Sunday 17th April. Door sales from 7pm, show starts at 8pm. Cost: $6

Alongside the new acts, The show will be compered by Billy T Award
Winner Ben Hurley and headlined by critically acclaimed Scottish comedian Steven Davidson ('uproarious laughter and applause' -
Edinburgh Evening News 'boyish charm and utter absurdity' - EdinburghGuide.Com)

The Green Room will be monthly thereafter, and I will pass on the details of the next month's show when they are finalised. Anyone who hasn't tried stand up before, or has done less than 10 gigs is most welcome to appear. Total beginners will be given priority, as they provide more drama! Anyone who fancies giving it a try should e-mail me, Barry Davidson, at barrydavidson@hotmail.com or phone on 0210738553.

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31.14
CREATING A CAPITAL

http://www.creativeclass.org/wellington5.shtml
http://www.creativeclass.org/wellington1.shtml

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31.15
NEWS (AND HYPERLINKS) FROM SOUNZ

Hello Everyone,

HERE WE ARE ON THE EVE OF NZ MUSIC MONTH...

By now, those of you who expected to get SOUNZ News Issue 25 April 2005 in the snail mail, should already have received it. If you did not and want to, then send an e-mail to Lachlan : info@sounz.org.nz to make sure we have your physical address right.

You can download the SOUNZNews as a pdf from the top of our 'News' page, http://www.sounz.org.nz/news.php By sacrificing the quality of a couple of photos, we have managed to keep the file size down to 1.2MB.

This Sunday May 1 at 10:30ish pm, (and 6:30am on Sunday 8th May) Frontseat will be considering WHAT THEY DESCRIBE AS "non-user-friendly" composers and compositions. Our own Scilla Askew will be appearing. Check out the pre-blurb from Frontseat on http://www.frontseat.co.nz/ (Isn't it about time we had a 'proper' term for this genre of music?)

A few of the new things raised in SOUNZ News include a change in the way the Library membership will operate. See page 16 of SOUNZ News or download the Library form from the Library section of our 'About' page http://www.sounz.org.nz/about.php While all the current kinds of membership remain, from the beginning of May there will be the option to 'Supersize' your membership allowing unlimited borrowing. Standard membership will limit borrowing to a certain number of items each year. Postage around NZ is included in the membership fee for but from May our international members will have to cover the cost of postage.

If you're not a member of the library, consider it. There is a treasure trove of MORE THAN 5,000 excellent scores, recordings and resources available, and it is an excellent way to support what SOUNZ does.

Our home page http://www.sounz.org.nz/index.php is due to change very shortly - hopefully by next week. When it does you will notice a Featured Composer section..

For May NZ Music Month, you might notice that our Spotlights feature events rather than retail items.... http://www.sounz.org.nz/shop.php

With Rachel Clement's "Taking Off" being performed at the Festival of Colour in Wanaka, we are reminded that it is time to find a SOUNZ Community Commission for 2005. Check out http://www.sounz.org.nz/news.php#4 and ask us for more info. The proposal can be from a composer or a community group, or both!

Congrats to Composers in Residence, Gillian Whitehead and Robin Toan.....
http://www.sounz.org.nz/news.php#5 We look forward to the results.

For May NZ Music Month, you might notice that our Spotlights feature events rather than retail items.... http://www.sounz.org.nz/shop.php

If you are involved in NZ Music events, do let us know... info@sounz.org.nz

SOUNZ has the largest collection of music by NZ composers for sale. RECENTLY RELEASED CDs include:

John Psathas and the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble: with Zeibekiko http://www.sounz.org.nz/recording.php?search_for=recordings&search_by=cat.ca
talogue_no&keyword_text=4533&keyword_type=match&selected_works=false

Dan Poynton's recordings of the complete piano works of Douglas Lilburn:
Volume 2:
http://www.sounz.org.nz/recording.php?search_for=recordings&search_by=cat.ca
talogue_no&keyword_text=4462&keyword_type=match&selected_works=false

Vol 1 and 2 have been hot items on the Concert FM Classical charts this year. We look forward to the remainder being released this year.

Among the scores, an album of Organ works Volume 1 has been published http://www.sounz.org.nz/score.php?search_for=scores&search_by=cat.catalogue_
no&keyword_text=4469&keyword_type=match&selected_works=false&do_search=true&
order_by=title
And Volume 2 is due any day now.

We have heard that there will be quite a number of new CDs released over the next few weeks..... Keep watching our site for news.

Centre for NZ Music (SOUNZ)
PO Box 10042
Wellington, NZ
Street address: Level 1, 39 Cambridge Terrace
Phone: (64 4) 801 8602
Fax: (64 4) 801 8604
Email: info@sounz.org.nz
Website: www.sounz.org.nz

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31.16
LAUGHING AT BATS

Next week at BATS - the ODDFELLOWS NZ International Comedy Festival including Michele A’Court’s Heritage 101, Jo Randerson’s Skazzle Dazzle, Sam Wills’ Dance Monkey Dance and Taika’s Incrediblerer Show. Check out the rest of our fab comedy season at www.bats.co.nz.

To book for any performance at BATS simply email book@bats.co.nz with your name, number of tickets and date you wish to attend. We will reply to confirm your booking and you can pay when you come to the show.


Sorry I’m Out But I Can Be Booked
Season: Tuesday 26 April – Sat 7 May (no show Sun/Mon)
Time: 9pm 26-30 April, 9.30pm 3-7 May
Tickets: $15 full/$12 concession and groups 8+

“I have seen so many movies that I no longer know if my childhood memories were actual experience or VHS.”

Ever wanted to know what your partner has previously rented? Ever wondered what’s behind the Adult room door? Take a closer look at life behind the counter at your local video store. Sorry I'm Out But I Can Be Booked follows a disgruntled video store employee's trials and tribulations in the world of customer service, from candid confessions in the Adult room, to finding love in the aisles between Comedy and Drama.  This fictitious account of behind-the-counter culture is inspired by a true story.

“After 11 years of service in several different locations, I have witnessed some of the most obscene, absurd and hilarious contradictions of the term ‘the customer is always right’. Whether it’s amorous activities caught on surveillance camera or the case of the plastic-fork armed robber, the truth at your local video store is infinitely stranger than the fiction it rents.”  James Ashcroft

James Ashcroft is a graduate of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. He was the first New Zealander to be accepted as an intern with the prestigious Wooster Group Theatre Company in New York whose members include Willem Dafoe and Steve Buscemi. Sorry I’m Out is devised in collaboration with director/devisers Andrew Foster (A Clockwork Orange, Silo Theatre, AKO5 Festival), and Leo Gene Peters (Shifting, SEEyD Theatre; MTA graduate Toi Whakaari 2004). Scored by Chapman Tripp Award winning composer Steve Gallagher (TV3’s The Strip), this production promises to be an original and highly innovative piece of new New Zealand theatre.


The Remedy Syndrome
Season: Tuesday 19 – Saturday 30 April (no show Sun/Mon)
Time: 7pm
Tickets: $16 full/$12 concession
‘The absence of disease is the least sexy thing to sell in the universe.’

Created by Tim Spite, Danielle Mason, Pedro Ilgenfritz and Leo Gene Peters, “the remedy syndrome” is the new devised work from the critically acclaimed SEEyD Theatre Company.

“…and if your hairdresser messes up your hair you go to another hairdresser you don’t become a hair dresser…and I think the mistake they often make in immunisation is that instead of ‘I don’t trust that person I’ll go and talk to some one else’ you try and become the expert… and you just can’t really, genuinely, easily become the expert. So how do you make informed consent? I think informed consent’s nonsense to be honest.”
 
The story centres on Rebecca and Joe as they face the issue of vaccinating their child. Overwhelmed by all the information, they negotiate their own blueprint for parenting while their differences force them to question their compatibility.  This work grew from interviews with both scientific professionals and others from the community.

“Now why did Helen Clarke announce that 200 million would be spent on vaccination the day after they got into parliament? I believe she was paying someone back; she was doing someone a favour. She’d just got into power she didn’t need to buy votes. She didn’t have to impress anyone. It’s all so political.”
“Take the Iraq war for example. They went to war for two reasons, with the exception of getting cheap oil. Two reasons: Weapons and vaccines. There is a lot of money to be made out of both when you go to war.”
 
The SEEyD Theatre Company began with the creation of three stand-alone plays: “SEEyD” in the Wellington Fringe Festival 2000 followed by “inSalt” in 2001 and “SAnD” in 2002.  All three works have won Most Original Production in the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards for their respective years and “inSalt” also won Best Design. “the remedy syndrome” continues the companies desire to make politically involved work that interweaves design and narrative and most importantly humour.
 
“All you’re doing with a vaccine you’re…if you like you’re taking the immune system to the gym. You’re giving it a little work out. You know we live in a very clean world now; the immune system doesn’t get the kind of work out it used to. So we’re like weak and pasty faced, in a sense, in the face of microbes. We might get to adulthood now without encountering a lot of microbes we used to encounter as very small infants. So we’re actually not that well adapted to this very clean world we live in. So, in a sense vaccines are partly a compensation for that.”

BATS Theatre
1 Kent Terrace
Wellington, Aotearoa
bats@bats.co.nz
bookings 802 4175
office 802 4176
fax 802 4010
www.bats.co.nz

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31.17
NOT TO LATE TO SALSA

Salsadrome & Tango Bar this Friday April 29th.
If you have recovered from Clave Latina, don't want to stop the party, and are keen to get down to more hot latin grooves, get ready for Salsadrome and Tango Bar this coming Friday night. Featuring our own Latin DJs. DJ Zebrita, DJ Fiesta and DJ Caliente! (out of Clave Latina)
 
Tango lesson 7:30, Salsa/Merengue Lesson 8:30, DJs from 9pm till late.... still only $8
 
Salsadrome Studio 1
Tango Bar Studio 2
Friday 29th April
36 - 42 Vivian St at Wellington Performing Arts Centre.
 
 
Don't forget Latin Fire are at the Salsadrome Friday 13th May.
This Show features one of Australia's hottest Salsa Bands here in Wellington for one night only. Brought to us by Eduardo Diaz of Kantuta fame. With salsa floor shows and Latin DJs, plus refreshments and catering by Latinos Bar. It's going to be a scorching night of Latin sights and Latin sounds.
 
Latin Fire
Friday 13th May.
36 - 42 Vivian St at Wellington Performing Arts Centre.
 
www.salsadrome.co.nz
www.radioluna.co.nz 

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31.18
MUSICAL LITTLIES IN KHANDALLAH

New classes starting in term two, Khandallah Cornerstone Community Centre, 2 Ganges Road, Khandallah.  
                                     
10:00 am: Musical Tots
A fun music and movement class for children aged two and a half years to four years.
10:45 am: Musical Babies and Tots
A fun class of singing and finger plays for babies and tots aged twelve months to two and a half years.                  
11:30 am: Musical Babies
Enjoy a fun and close time with your baby. A class to start your child off on their musical journey for babies aged six to twelve months.

Musical babies and tots classes begin on Friday 6 May 2005 and run until Friday 8 July 2005. Fees for term two are $62.00 for ten sessions. To register your place for next term, email jumpnjive@paradise.net.nz. Class sizes are limited and registration is essential. Look forward to seeing you!

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31.19
MOSAIC LIFE WELLINGTON

Mosaic Life Wellington is a solo exhibition of works by Michael Coles, exploring his return to New Zealand and Wellington after five years in London.

New Zealand is a landscape mosaic. From the air, from the land, from the culture and people, and from the hours of dreamy contemplation that are an inevitable consequence of the art of mosaic – “the patient art”. Rivers that wind their way organic through rugged, bushy ranges, and the symmetrical shades of colour that mark paddocks. Detailed canopies inside the bush, or the view from the house of the southern belt. Sun, clouds, rain, and fog create an infinitely changing landscape for the imagination.

Mosaic Life Wellington captures the simplicity and complexity of this multi-dimensional landscape, and is a record – through the art of mosaic – of the journey home.

Mosaic Life Wellington
An exhibition of works by Michael Coles
May 9 – May 20, 2005
Vincents Art Studio Gallery
4th floor, 84 Willis St, Wellington (the old ‘Press House’ building)
www.vincentsartstudio.co.nz for hours
michaelcoles2000@yahoo.co.nz

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31.20
CRAZY COFFEE

Café Dement 2
May 3rd – 21st at 7.30 pm
Real Earth Organic Café – 96 Victoria Street, Wellington
Cost: $22/18
Bookings: Ticketek - 04 384 3840

Part of the New Zealand International COMEDY FESTIVAL.

This play is a comedy about a Wellington café, its workers and the extreme relationships they form when forced to inhabit the same small work space.

Set in a real café, (Real Earth Organic Cafe, Wellington), Café Dement 2 is a fun night out and an insightful look into café culture and the people that exist with in it.

Learn more
Brianne Kerr Publicity
021 165 5784
04 380 1071
briannekerrpublicity@yahoo.co.nz

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31.21
SCULPT IT

Sculpture Installation Proposals Sought
New Zealand sculptors are invited to submit concept proposals for a large installation sculpture for the Connells Bay Sculpture Park on Waiheke Island. It is intended that similar submissions will be sought on an annual basis.
Interested sculptors should submit a brief sketch of their proposed idea, along with a description of the work & medium, how it will be installed and a preliminary budget. Please also supply a CV of your previous work. Initial submissions must be received by 31 May 2005. The trustees will make their decision by 30 June 2005 and the selected sculpture is to be installed by the beginning of December 2005.
Proposals up to a maximum value of $10,000 (GST inclusive) will be considered. However, submissions will be assessed according to their merits regardless of their budget.  The sum awarded to the selected sculptor is to cover all the costs associated with the creative design, materials, fabrication, transportation and installation of the work. All works not selected this year may be considered for installation in subsequent years.
It is important that the work must be sufficiently robust to remain installed in a coastal/rural environment for at least 6 months. It will be exposed to rain, wind and sun. The installation may consist of a single structure or a number of structures that collectively make up the whole work. When the work is de-installed it will remain the property of Connells Bay Sculpture Park. If its condition allows, it may be re-erected again at a later date.
Connells Bay Sculpture Park operates through a charitable trust, the Creative Arts Trust. The trustees’ vision is to unite art and nature by planting sweeps of native trees and creating special places for commissioned site-specific, purchased and installation sculpture by New Zealand sculptors. The park currently contains 22 sculptures by some of New Zealand’s best known sculptors. The works are set in a coastal native bush environment with commanding views of the Hauraki Gulf.
New works are added each year and a gallery offering small and large works for sale is nearing completion. Over 700 visitors have enjoyed a guided walk throughout the property since it first opened in 2003.
Connells Bay Sculpture Park has been featured in the NZ Herald (see web-links below) and in the October 2004 issue of NZ House and Garden and more recently on Billy Connolly’s 2004 World Tour of New Zealand.
If this proposal is of interest to you then please send your submission no later than 31 May 2005. You are welcome to visit our website www.connellsbay.co.nz

Connells Bay Sculpture Park
Cowes Bay Road
Waiheke Island
T: 09 372 8957
e:info@connellsbay.co.nz
w: www.connellsbay.co.nz

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31.22
GO NOW< AND GET HAPPY

Music at Wellington’s HAPPY UNDERGROUND
Fri 29 10pm
SURFIN' USSR
THEBIS MUTANTE and the PUPPYCATZ
Greg Malcolms surf band from Chch and warped cabaret insanity
 
Sat 30 10pm
DAISY CHAIN HALO

Sun 1 May
LEILA ADU
last night of Leila on sundays
 
Mon 2 May
POGAN and POODLEBITE
marking the international Eugenics day

4 - 7 May 8pm
GUY CAPPER
comedy festival show
 
5 May
JOE CALLWOOD QUINTET
 
6 May
LIBRA ACCORD
 
7 MAY
MOTORCAMP / BROWN SUGAR / BUTTERFLY P.I.G
 
8 MAY
ECSTASY TRIO (every Sun in May)
 
10 - 14 MAY
PATERAS / BAXTER / BROWN
incredible trio from Melbourne, Australia hit town to collaborate with the likes of PHIL DADSON, ANT DONALDSON, JEFF HENDERSON and others.

Happy
corner Vivian and Tory Streets
PO Box 9069
Wellington
New Zealand
+64 4 384 1965
www.happy.net.nz

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31.23
GET YOUR OFFICE SPACE
Wellington City Council is offering subsidised central city office space to community groups.

There are several small offices available for rent or sublease in the Betty Campbell Centre. The centre comprises 38 rooms in the Harbour City Tower, off Lambton Quay, and houses a range of not-for-profit organisations and groups.
In line with the Council's Accommodation Assistance Policy, priority will be given to groups that reduce social disadvantage in Wellington city.
"Wellington City Council is socially responsible and committed to enabling community groups to successfully perform their work," says the Council's Manager of Community Services Laurie Gabites.
"There are a number of community organisations in the city helping people in need.  By offering this subsidy we can ease the way for appropriate community groups to deliver their work.  To maintain fairness, we have established clear and transparent eligibility criteria for the subsidy."
The subsidy, in the form of reduced rent on rooms, makes CBD office space available to groups that might not otherwise afford it. A central location allows groups access to foot traffic, transport and corporate contacts.
Any rent agreement would be for one year only. The deadline for applications has been extended and is now 5.00pm Wednesday 4 May, 2005.
Interested groups should contact (04) 499 4444 for more information or to obtain an application form. 

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31.24
THREE WAY BALLET

Dance with daring: Royal NZ Ballet's new triple bill
The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s new triple bill, The Peugeot Season of A Million Kisses to My Skin, reflects the company’s commitment to adventurous programming.
The season features Javier De Frutos’ much-feted Milagros, Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto and the New Zealand premiere of David Dawson’s A Million Kisses to My Skin.
“This is dance with daring: ballet with a sense of adventure,” says Artistic Director Gary Harris.
“These works breathe new life into our classical traditions. They take the art form into challenging and exciting new territory,” he says.
The season borrows its name from Dawson’s passionately titled ballet A Million Kisses to My Skin. An elegant display of free-flowing classical technique, the work shows the qualities that earlier this year earned its creator a rare commission for Russia’s legendary Mariinsky Ballet Company, better known to New Zealanders by its old Soviet name The Kirov.
The 33-year-old Englishman is only the third foreign choreographer to be invited to create a new work on the Kirov in its 250-year history.
Says Harris: “David is a major choreographic talent. He has a deep reverence of ballet’s traditions, which he uses to create works with a modern energy.”
De Frutos’ riveting and ritualistic Milagros is set to a piano roll recording of Stravinsky’s iconic Rite of Spring. Described by The Guardian as "one of the great Rites" after its showing at Sadler's Wells last year, Milagros earned the Royal New Zealand Ballet an international reputation for gutsy programming and secured it invitations to perform in Sydney and this year’s San Francisco International Arts Festival.
In February the work received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best New Dance Production and helped De Frutos win Best Choreography (Modern) at Britain’s Critics’ Circle Dance Awards. Milagros last toured New Zealand in 2003.
The season marks the company’s first foray into the vast MacMillan repertory in more than 30 years. With its rise and shine charm, Concerto has become one of the late British choreographer’s most popular works.
Says Harris: “MacMillan was a master of the pas de deux and Concerto's second movement contains one of the most powerful and beautiful duets ever choreographed. It is without doubt one of his finest short works.”
Harris, who worked as an assistant to MacMillan in the 1990s, has updated the work’s costumes. The company has also commissioned a special New Zealand Symphony Orchestra recording of the Shostakovich score for its performances.
Peugeot New Zealand representative Steve Kenchington says: “This season showcases the dancers’ skills and artistic flair in a vibrantly modern, lively and exciting performance. We hope our investment promotes positive community awareness and encourages involvement.”
Wellington, Westpac St James Theatre
Thursday 12 May 7.30pm
Friday 13 May 7.30pm
Saturday 14 May 2.30pm
& 7.30pm
Sunday 15 May 6.30pm
Book at Ticketek 04 384 3840
Adult $30 - $65 Child $18 - $39

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31.25
STICKY BUSINESS

http://www.stickypictures.co.nz/

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31.26
DRAWING A CROWD

Holbein to Hockney: Drawings from the Royal Collection at Te Papa
The exhibition Holbein to Hockney: Drawings from the Royal Collection is on display at Te Papa to 24 July 2005.
Holbein to Hockney offers a unique opportunity not only to encounter extraordinary art but also to engage with the creative processes of some of the world’s great artists, including masters such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dûrer, Poussin, Bernini, Domenichino, Canaletto, and Hogarth.
Other treasures include Hans Holbein’s chalk studies of Sir Thomas More and Cicely Heron, which are preparatory works for Holbein’s lost portrait of More and his family. One of the most recent additions to the collection is a pencil portrait of Lord Rothschild by David Hockney, which entered the Royal Collection in 2003.
Since 1547, British kings and queens have bought or commissioned some 40,000 drawings and watercolours for the Royal Collection, forming one of the world’s greatest collections of drawings. Holbein to Hockney offers a unique introduction to the collection and a rare showing of the riches of art housed in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.
The exhibition presents a selection of seventy-six works, ranging from quick sketches to finished presentations. They include almost every type of drawing practised in European art over the last 500 years and represent every important group within the collection.
Te Papa is the only venue for the exhibition outside Great Britain. After the exhibition closes at Te Papa, it will be shown in The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Place.
Highlights of the events programme to complement the exhibition include an exhibition tour and public lecture by Martin Clayton, curator from the Royal Collection.
Visitors to the Holbein to Hockney exhibition can enter the competition to win a trip for two to Windsor Castle!
Holbein to Hockney: Drawings from the Royal Collection Saturday 23 April to Sunday 24 July 2005 Tower Gallery, Level 4. Exhibition admission charges apply. Holbein to Hockney - And All Points in Between Martin Clayton, curator from the Royal Collection, will give a tour of the exhibition, showing the uses of drawing since the Renaissance. Saturday 23 April 2005 2.30pm - 3.15pm Tower Gallery, Level 4 Exhibition admission charges apply.
Holbein to Hockney: How the Royal Collection of Drawings and Watercolours Was Formed Hear Martin Clayton, curator from the Royal Collection, discuss the collection and how it has developed its unique character over the past five hundred years. Saturday 23 April 2005 1.00pm - 2.00pm Soundings Theatre, Level 2 Free entry.

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31.27
THE ART OF RESALE

http://www.frontseat.co.nz/exclusive/transcripts/transcript.php?id=11

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31.28
EUGENICALLY SPEAKING

Pogan and the NZ Improvised Music Charitable Trust present:
A Concert to Commemorate the Victims of Eugenics

Monday May 2nd
9pm
at Happy
cnr Tory and Vivian Street
Wellington

“Music is the healing force of the Universe.”
Albert Ayler

At Happy on Monday 2nd May 2005, Pogan, through the healing power of sound and improvisation, will confront the dark legacy of 20th century eugenics. UN der the spell of eugenics various countries, including New Zealand, sought ot create a master race by eliminating those people deemed by medical authorities to be genetically inferior or undesirable.

This special performance on May 2nd is timed to coincide with an annual event in Berlin at Tiegartenstrasse 4 commemorating the 250,000 victoms of eugenics mass murder in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was from Tiegartenstrasse 4 that the deaths of the disabled through gassing and starvation were organized by teasm of consultant psychiatrists. These same psychiatrists then used their expertise to set up similar killing facilities in the concentration camps. The killing of the disabled was a dress rehearsal for the Holocaust.

On May 2nd 1998 the Foucault Tribunal sitting in Berlin issued a verdict against psychiatry stating:

“We conclude that being unwilling to renounce the use of force, violence and coercion, psychiatry is guilty of crimes against humanity: the deliberate destruction of dignity, liberty and life.”

POGAN is:
Jonny Marks, vocals, analogue synthesiser and tea chest bass
Misha Marks, vocals, guitar
Alphabethead, turntables
Gerard Crewdson, vocals, trombone, tuba

With special support act, Poodlebite.

For more information please contact:
Gerard Crewdson
gcrewdson@yahoo.com

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31.29
SCHOOL OF POETS

ENTRIES CALLED FOR 2005 BELL GULLY POETRY AWARD
Entries have now opened for this year’s $1,000 Bell Gully National Schools’ Poetry Award, to be announced in Wellington in August. The Award, which is organised by Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) and supported by leading law firm Bell Gully will be judged by the North Canterbury poet and playwright Bernadette Hall.
The winner will receive a $500 cash prize; a $500 book grant for their school’s library; a year’s membership to the New Zealand Book Council; and subscriptions to leading literary journals Landfall and Sport. Entries close on 10 June 2005.
The winning poet will be announced at a reception in Wellington during the Bell Gully National Schools’ Writing Festival (20-21 August) ? a chance for young writers across all genres to work with some of the country’s leading fiction writers, poets, and scriptwriters. Schools are invited to nominate gifted year 12 or 13 students to attend the Festival, which also offers workshops for teachers of creative writing with support from the Ministry of Education.
Entry and nomination forms have been sent to English departments at all secondary schools and can also be downloaded from www.vuw.ac.nz/modernletters/activities

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31.30
TWICE THE FUN

Double Negative
Featuring Tanja Nola and Dale Anthony
20-Apr-2005 to 05-May-2005
Opening hours: 10.00am - 5.00pm Tues - Sat
Mary Newton Gallery
150 Vivian Street
Wellington

Phone: 04 385 1699
http://www.marynewtongallery.com/

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31.31
INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLING WRITERS

Creative New Zealand maintains a list of New Zealand artists and arts events travelling internationally. It includes dates, venues and contact details, and is made available to all New Zealand diplomatic posts, the arts community and the media.  It is posted on the Creative New Zealand website and updated regularly.  If you are aware of a New Zealand artist/s travelling who may wish to feature on this list, please forward these links to Creative New Zealand’s website to them where you will find the current list and relevant contact details.
http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/our-work/international/index.html
http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/our-work/audience/index.html

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31.32
A DIARY FOR WRITERS

APRIL
29th – May 1st – Sydney Conference for Freelance Writers Info on: http://freelance.alliance.org.au/
29TH – Nominations close for Prime Minister’s Awards. Email: daniellet@creativenz.govt.nz for forms
29th – Rattling Tongues – Short and Sharp. Info www.rattlingtongues.com
30TH - Robert Lord Cottage residency. Applications and should be sent to: Anna Cameron, Playmarket,  Box 9767, Wellington or by email : director@playmarket.org.nz. www.playmarket.org.nz under the ‘awards’ page.
30th – Romance Writers of NZ unpublished writers competition. Information on http://www.romancewriters.co.nz
30th – Awards in Oral History. Got to http://www.mch.govt.nz/history/oral-history.html for more information.

MAY
1st – 2005 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. Info and entry forms email: story@cba.org.uk
6 & 7th NZSA (PEN NZ Inc) AGM at Barrycourt Motel & Conference Centre Parnell.
16th – Atlanta Review International Poetry Competition. Details on – http://www.atlantareview.com
19th – Auckland Writers & Readers Festival  - www.writersfestival.co.nz
20th – CNZ Sanskriti Residency – India. More info from info@creativenz.govt.nz
20th – CNZ Red Gate Residency in Beijing. More info from info@creativenz.govt.nz
30th – NZ Poetry Society’s International Verse & Haiku Competition. Entry forms and details on the NZPS website – www.poetrysociety.org.nz
31st- Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Book Award. Email the NZSA office for details. nzsa@clear.net.nz
31st – Listener/Tourism Australia Tall Tales Competition. To find out more visit – www.australia.com for an official entry form.
JUNE
10th – Indiana Review 2005 1/2K Prize. – See E-news 1/4/05 or email the office and I will send it to you.
20th – Middlesex University Press Literary Prize 2005. More info – http://www.mupress.co.uk
30h – Ken Saro Wira poetry anthology. More information from email:  kensarowiwa@flippedeye.net or Flipped Eye Publishing: http://www.flippedeye.net/
30th – Bridport Poetry and Short Story Prize. Entry forms and details on – www.bridportprize.org.uk
30th – Richard Webster Popular Fiction Award. Entry forms -  http://www.hazard.co.nz/fictionaward.html

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31.33
I AM A JELLY DONUT

Creative New Zealand Visual Arts Residency
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

Call for Applications

Creative New Zealand is once again offering a residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Germany in 2006/07. The residency is for a period of twelve months and is open to all New Zealand visual artists currently working or exhibiting in New Zealand. Creative New Zealand is now calling for applications for this residency.

Background

The Creative New Zealand Visual Arts Residency in Berlin was established by the Arts Board in 1999/2000, to provide a unique opportunity for a New Zealand visual artist. It is a biennial residency and was offered again in 2002/03 and 2004/05. The timeframe covered by the residency currently being offered is August 2006 – July 2007 (after this, it will be offered again in 2008/09).


Why Berlin?

Berlin has been identified as a strategic location for artists, with good access to the rest of Europe. A number of New Zealand artists have already formed strong connections with the city, and Creative New Zealand’s support for this visual arts residency alternates with one for writers.


Aims

The primary aim will be for the artist to work on an approved project while in Berlin. However, transporting the artist to a different environment is expected to have many other benefits. These include:

Impact of a new physical environment upon the artist’s work
Cross fertilisation of ideas from mixing with residents of another culture
Increased awareness in Germany of New Zealand artists and New Zealand visual arts
Other Professional Development opportunities e.g. invitations to exhibit elsewhere
Contribution to the development of New Zealand visual arts


Künstlerhaus Bethanien

The Künstlerhaus Bethanien is a major artists’ residency and project workshop for the promotion of contemporary art and international exchange. The Künstlerhaus Bethanien was established in 1975 and is now a leading model for similar institutions internationally. To date, over 400 artists from more than 30 countries have worked at Künstlerhaus Bethanien.
Over the years, the Künstlerhaus Bethanien has worked on and presented hundreds of projects. Christo had a residency there in the early 1980s, wrapped the inside of Studio 1 and ‘rehearsed’ aspects of his later Reichstag project. A considerable number of artists who have gone through the programme there are now established figures in the international scene (in 2002 three residents were included in Manifesta and in 2003 two residents, including the New Zealand artist, represented their country at the Venice Biennale).

There has been an expansion of the critical or ‘discursive’ elements in the residency programme and this is starting to play an increasingly important role in their activities. Every month they have visitors and in 2003 they included: Marta Kuzma and Massimiliano Gioni from Manifesta; Adam Budak; Montse Badia (who curated a show at Apex Art, N); Carlos Basualdo and Ute Meta Bauer from Documenta XI; Aneta Szylak (whose project on Polish women artists was shown at the Sculpture Center, NY in 2003); Harald Kunde from the Ludwig Forum; Sabrina van der Ley (the artistic director of the Berlin Art Fair).

The Künstlerhaus Bethanien holds in-house seminars with leading figures from German institutions, and is developing its Media Arts Lab as well as implementing several large exhibitions throughout the year, all of which helps to raise the profile of the residency presentations. It also publishes a magazine titled BE and houses three exhibition galleries. Further information about the Künstlerhaus Bethanien can be found on their website www.bethanien.de.

The Künstlerhaus Bethanien will offer the resident a studio and an exhibition at the end of their term and their exhibition and work will be covered in BE magazine.


Creative New Zealand

Creative New Zealand will offer the resident a stipend of NZD$36,000 for a twelve-month residency, commencing August 2006, to be used towards living and material costs plus travel. A flat in Berlin is provided for the selected artist’s accommodation for the duration of the residency.

Creative New Zealand will also cover the Künstlerhaus Bethanien studio expenses and contribute to the costs of the exhibition and its promotion and documentation.

Expenses not covered by Creative New Zealand and the Künstlerhaus Bethanien are the responsibility of the artist selected for the residency.

Closing Date

The closing date for applications is 5.00pm Friday 26 August 2005.

Learn more, and get the full application details:

Visual Arts Residency - Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
Creative New Zealand
Old Public Trust Building
131-135 Lambton Quay
P O Box 3806
Wellington

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31.34
CHARMING KEYBOARD

The charming and delectable Piers Lane returns to New Zealand this month. Piers is a pianist renown for his charming manner and delicious personality on and off the stage.

Piers will be performing a selection of 'romantic' favourites in nine centres throughout New Zealand. Some of his performances will include one of the best known pieces in the world, the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.

Turbo Piano

PIERS LANE
piano recital
touring NZ 26 April - 7 May

For more information visit www.chambermusic.co.nz/artists/83.php

"Musically it had everything: style, wit, humour, control Š
the night belonged to Piers Lane, his four hands
and his turbo driven fingers"
The Glasgow Herald

PLUS

Shanghai Quartet (USA) - June
Dean-Emmerson-Dean (Australia) - July/August
Michael Houstoun (NZ) - August/September
Petersen Quartet (Germany) - September
Flight (NZ) - September/October
Tichman-Bieler-Kliegel Piano Trio (Germany) - October


For details of who's playing, what, where and when, you can
ph 0800 CONCERT (266 2378)
or visit www.chambermusic.co.nz

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31.35
PHOTOWORLD

Hi from James at Photospace,
 
There's a new exhibition on: the 2005 Exposed group show, featuring works by John Savage, John Williams, Jessica Parker, Glen Howey, Liz Brooker, Jane Wilcox, Alan Knowles and Mark Beehre. See www.exposed.co.nz for more information and other work by these artists.
 
The gallery will be closed on ANZAC day, Monday.
 
The exhibition runs until 13 May, and will be followed up by solo shows from Mark Beehre
and Jessica Parker.
 
There's some other pretty interesting photographic exhibitions on in the Wellington region as well - go to www.photospace.co.nz/whatson.htm for listings. I try to keep this page up to date, so please let me know about any photography-related events for inclusion.
 
Workshops and Courses:
 
The Photocourse1 (see www.photospace.co.nz/programme01.htm ) courses Mark Marriott and I are running are going well, and filling up quickly. There's a couple more places left on the course beginning in June, so please contact me if interested, or forward this info to friends. We'll be running this workshop continuously, restarting about every 10 weeks.
 
Hope you can make it along to see the Exposed Show,
 
Thanx,
James Gilberd
Photospace studio/gallery
1st floor, 37 Courtenay Place
Wellington, New Zealand
(postal address: as above)
ph/fax: 64-4-382 9502
cell: 027 444 3899
Gallery hours: 10-4.30 Monday-Friday
11-3 Saturdays, closed public holidays
www.photospace.co.nz

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31.36
TELLING TALES

Wellington Storytellers’ Cafe at the New Arts Centre

The Storytellers’ Café is the home of storytelling in the Capital. From 7:30 – 9 pm on the first Tuesday of every month except January, the café is open to everyone.  Come along to the next session at the new arts centre, 61-63 Abel Smith Street. All you need to do is bring your ears!  Each month a different teller takes the stage, and there is always room for offerings from the audience.  Cost is $5, tea, coffee and nibbles are provided.

CONTACT:021-687-627

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31.37
PLAYING WITH WORDS

Exploring and expanding expression through writing is the goal of a new creative writing course called WordPlay, facilitated by Ruth Pink and Marolyn Krasner.

WordPlay will get your creative juices flowing by offering a space to write, take risks, improvise, learn the art of eavesdropping, delight in language, explore different genres, work on character building and conflict, unblock your blocks and so much more.

WordPlay will run from April 28 to June 30 on Thursdays from 7 to 9pm and will be held at the Lighthouse Building/Karori Community Centre
235 Karori Road
04 476 4968
Term price $59/49 or $8/session

Word Play is for anyone interested in writing regardless of your level of experience.

For more information or to register please call or email:
Marolyn Krasner – 938 2545 marolyn@ureach.com
or Ruth Pink – 976 8087  pinkruth@clear.net.nz

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31.38
MAGICAL PAINTINGS

Magical 3-D artist Anah Dunsheath breaking new ground in major exhibition
Popular Auckland artist Anah Dunsheath’s passion for a three dimensional painting format can be viewed at a special exhibition in Wellington next month.
Her works can be seen at the Ferner Galleries in Wellington exhibition from May 31 to June 11.
Dunsheath’s painting was seen on the cover of the 2004 Auckland telephone book after she won the Yellow Pages Arts Scholarship.
Her painting on flat board – via the phone book cover - was seen in 750,000 homes around Auckland. The acrylic painting titled Sun in the City, showed Auckland's diversity, blending Polynesian influences with an old villa and jandals.
Ms Dunsheath has studied at Auckland University’s Elam School of Fine Arts while also running her High Street store, Rare Books.
“I even without the paint brush in my hand I think about painting all the time as a way of expressing my ideas about us the consumer”
Her works are fascinatingly different in as much as the format of the images appear to move as the viewer moves. This has the advantage of physically engaging the viewer and demanding their attention.
Dunsheath believes that once someone’s attention is captured, the meaning of the works are more likely to be thought about.
She has had two solo exhibitions, and been part of four other Ferner Galleries exhibitions in Auckland. She is also well known as an antiquarian book dealer and runs New Zealand’s longest established and leading rare bookshop
Dunsheath is understood to be the only New Zealand dealer and valuer that specialises exclusively in early and valuable books, maps and photographic views.
``It was an aquatint plate in one of my rare books (Pyne's Royal Residences, published in 1819), which inspired the perspective format I have developed in my three dimensional work today,’’ she says.
The works appear to "grow" out of the wall. They are executed in bold clear colours and clarity of image, and have definite elements of the surreal, as well as being witty and humorous.
The works are precise and in many cases architectural. There are fantastical images containing elements of the familiar, with placements of Wellington architecture, but the underlying message goes much deeper.

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31.39
DISNEY TO DUNEDIN
On Saturday 30th April at 7pm The New Zealand Film Archive presents a concert with a twist.
Quirky Christchurch group Surfing USSR, specialise in combining Jazz, Surf and of all things, Jewish Klezmer music. They will accompany an eclectic mix of animations from the Archive’s collection.
Guitarist Greg Malcolm and drummer Chris O'Connor say they welcome the chance to play alongside a mix of experimental and classic animation.
In the world of classic animation one star is impossible to ignore. During the 1920's he was more popular than kings, queens and even other movie stars. Musicians wrote songs about him and newspapers "interviewed" him. His adorable appearance and removable, remarkably multi-functional tail helped Felix the Cat achieve an unprecedented level of popularity across generations. He remained at the forefront of animation culture until 1929, when creator Pat Sullivan refused to convert to that new-fangled sound thing. The Film Archive is lucky enough to hold “Felix Crosses the Crooks” (1924) in it’s collection and programmers have been waiting for the right opportunity to showcase this hilarious silent cartoon for quite some time.
On the contemporary side of the coin Surfing USSR’s programme includes work by Wellington animators Mike Heynes, known for his Fringe 2002 project, “Sticklers Wood” and Lissa Mitchell. Mitchell will be the first artist to exhibit in the City Gallery's new space for moving image. Although it is 10 years since Mitchell created “Bowl Me Over” film it remains a fresh and fascinating piece of work.
“Bowl me Over” Uses a film process pioneered by legendary New Zealander Len Lye where the image is scratched and hand-painted directly onto the film.
One can only imagine what kind of new perspectives the diverse animations will present when accompanied by the appealing, if unusual South Island Klezmer-Surf.
Surfing USSR play a The Film Archive mediaplex Saturday 30th of April at 7pm
Admission $8 Concession $6

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31.40
lovepossibly
A TOTALLY IMPROVISED CHICK FLICK
WHERE YOU CALL THE SHOTS

8pm, Tue 10 - Sat 14 May
Not just another romantic comedy! lovepossibly is a totally improvised ‘chick flick’ where the audience will call the shots. The show is being brought to the stage for the International Comedy Festival by the Wellington Improvisation Troupe’s Improv Divas (“highly inventive”– National Business Review).
“Love and long-form improvisation are high-stakes games for consenting adults only. Over the course of one hour, six of Wellington’s best improvisers are going to attempt to find true love without a script” explains Diva Nicola Hill. “There could well be broken hearts.”
lovepossibly is the first improv RomCom in the country. “We were inspired by movies like ‘Four Flops and a Turkey’, ‘Nothing Hill’ and ‘Bridget’s Dairy Intolerance’” says Hill, “But this show will appeal to all improv lovers. It represents a rare opportunity to see a long-form improv comedy show in New Zealand.”

Launched at BATS in 2001, the Divas are New Zealand’s first all-female improvisation act. They will be joined on stage by WIT’s leading men. Featuring Clare Kerrison, Danielle Hodgson, Kirstin Price, Nicola Hill, Barry Miskimmin, Nigel Chin, Simon Smith and Paul Sullivan.
PG Adult Themes.
Booking Information:
There are only five nights of shows. So book early, or take your chances on the door! And remember that if you arrange 8 of your friends or family to go with you, you all qualify for the group discounted rate!
When: 8pm, Tue 10 - Sat 14 May 2005
Where: BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Terrace.
Bookings: 0(4) 802 4175 or book@bats.co.nz Door sales available
How much: Only $15 full price, $12 unwaged/groups 8+... so it's a cheap date! How long: These are 60 minute shows.
Website: Visit wit.org.nz to read more about WIT, including upcoming shows and details of courses to learn improvisation.

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31.41
COPY THIS

Applications open for major non-fiction awards
New Zealand writers of non-fiction books are invited to apply for two grants, each worth $35,000, in this year’s Copyright Licensing Ltd (CLL) Writers’ Awards.

The CLL Writers’ Awards were established in 2002 and are financed from copyright licensing revenue collected by CLL on behalf of authors and publishers. This is the second time that two awards of $35,000 each have been provided.

Last year, the awards were presented to two Dunedin-based writers to enable them to devote time to a specific non-fiction writing project and to provide reasonable research expenses for their projects. Poet and critic David Eggleton, and writer and academic Lloyd Spencer Davis were each awarded $35,000.

Eggleton is using his award to work on a contemporary guide to New Zealand cultural history. Spencer Davis describes his work-in-progress as a science book – the unravelling of Darwin and Darwinism – but also part travelogue, part personal memoir. He says that the award “offers the prospect of the one commodity a writer really needs – a period of uninterrupted time”.

A grant of $30,000 was awarded in 2002 to Sarah Quigley to write a biography of poet and patron of writers, Charles Brasch. In 2003, a $35,000 grant was awarded to Dr Paul Miller, a senior lecturer at Victoria University’s School of English, Film and Theatre, for a biography of one of this country’s most important literary scholars and cultural theorists, Bill Pearson.

The Board of Copyright Licensing Ltd (made up of authors and publishers) encourages all established writers of non-fiction to consider applying for one of the two awards on offer this year. It is hoping to encourage applications from writers with interests in the sciences, business, Maori and Pacific studies, the arts and beyond. Applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents and writers of proven merit.

Applications close at 5pm on Friday 15 July 2005. The two winners of this year’s awards will be announced at a special ceremony to be held on Tuesday 20 September 2005. Click on the link below for full application details.




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31.42
CARVED IN THE ISLANDS

Residency for Maori carver in Hawaii

Te Waka Toi, the Maori arts board of Creative New Zealand, is calling for applications from Maori carvers to take up a pilot residency programme in Hawaii for three months from September. Applications close on 6 May.

The Oahu Residency will be based at the Kamakaluokani Centre for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawaii. Carvers wishing to apply for the residency must have knowledge and experience of traditional and contemporary Maori carving and be prepared to act as a cultural ambassador for Maori. Application forms can be obtained from Margaret Te Hiko (Tel: 04-498 0714 Email: Margarett@creativenz.govt.nz).

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31.43
BE AN ARTS PARTNER

Arts Partners is a regular, fairly informal assembly of people involved in Wellington’s creative industry. If you are an arts manager, company producer, artistic director, publicist, development director, or work for a local cultural organisation, these lunch meetings might be for you. Held about every month, they provide an easy opportunity for networking and the exchange of ideas. To request that you or your staff be added to the Arts partners list, contact the Standing Ovation office at 494 0266 or standingovation2@xtra.co.nz

The next Arts Partners gathering will be in early June at the new Wellington Arts Centre, 61-69 Abel Smith Street. Those interested in attending, or learning more about Arts Parnters should also contact Biddy Grant at the above email. Thanks Biddy.
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30.44
GET THE WORD OUT

Arts Marketing!

Calling all artists - if you want to learn more about arts marketing, putting on your own event, business and tax issues, then read on. The Learning Connexion’s Eva Yocum is delivering a weekend course at Inverlochy Art School on 7 and 8 May, which will cover these and other pertinent topics. Call (04) 939 2177 for more information or to book a place.

There’s more at Inverlochy, offering Wellington’s premier fine art and craft instruction. View their website today:

http://www.inverlochy.org.nz/


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30.45
COLD CHILLIN’ AT THE DOWSE

The New Cool
May - August 2005
The Dowse Art Museum

The New Cool are dancing to their own version of the commercial beat and reshaping the way we think about business.

The New Cool showcases the stories of 12 young New Zealand companies, celebrating creative business outside the 9 to 5. Defying the 'slacker' reputation of youth culture, companies (including Dawn Raid Entertainment, Huffer Clothing, Loop Aot(ear)roa Recordings, Disruptiv, Illicit, Sidhe Interactive, and Insidious Fix), have successfully transformed their creative passions into business dollars.

These inspirational stories are all about big ideas
and very small beginnings, the hard years, the timely successes, the concept of 'co-opitition' that comes from working with and for your mates, and the simple satisfaction of waking up each day and loving what
you do.

The New Cool is a highly interactive multi-media event that will be on show at The Dowse from late May - August 30, 2005.

Free Seminars: A series of free seminars will also run alongside the exhibition giving visitors the opportunity to meet the directors of some the The New Cool companies and learn how to develop a positive entrepreneurial attitude.

More info at: www.dowse.org.nz

Where: The Dowse Lower Hutt (04) 570 6500
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30.46
THE NO.8 WIRE: PAST AND PRESENT

Archives of the No. 8 Wire are on-line at
www.arts.blogspot.com

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30.47
CONTACT THE NO.8 WIRE

To be removed from this email list…

To be added…

To submit contents, events, opportunities, or comments to contribute to…

Please send word to arts@wcc.govt.nz

Furthermore, send comments, questions, requests, etc to

Eric Vaughn Holowacz
Wellington Arts Centre
61-69 Abel Smith Street
Wellington, New Zealand
Arts@wcc.govt.nz
04-385-1929
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THE NO. 8 WIRE INTERVIEW CONTINUES

The Octo-numerical Query.
A batch of questions is presented.
A creative person answers.
http://www.octonumerical.blogspot.com/

SETH FRASER
What cities/towns have you lived in (or spent more than a few months in), beginning with your place of birth.
Always Wellington - apart from 6 months in Christchurch.What are the earliest stories you remember hearing?
I remember the Sesquicentennial Festival, and the Events centre being built. It was pretty cool when the East by West Ferry started up and I could take it to school. There was a big skate complex called “the Skate Pit” near where the stadium is now - it was run by some punky woman.What music was present and still memorable from your youth/adolescence?
Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, MC Hammer, Guns and Roses. It took me a while to discover jazz, and to be honest, 1990Õs Jazz is (ahem) not worth speaking about generally.For you as a creative person, who are three influential artists or thinkers?
Herbie Hancock, Terry Guilliam, Pablo PicassoWhat is your dream of happiness?
Owning a piece of land somewhere out of town with at least 4 different sheds. Running several small creative businesses. Swimming with dolphins - cheesy -sounding but I think it could be fun.Who are your favourite or most admired figures from history?
Peter Jackson, Bruno Lawrence, David Bowie (those were the first who came to mind) There are plenty of great leaders who did great stuff for humankind, but there are plenty of people who idolise them - so I will stick with the storytellers.Name three films that you consider profound, moving, or extraordinary.
Brazil. The Army of Darkness trilogies, Meet the Feebles by Peter JacksonWhat was your first real job? second? third?
Real Job? I was a kitchen hand at the Park Royal hotel, sometimes I had to wear elbow length gloves and a facemask. I had to wheel jumbo size wheeliebins downstairs and empty them into skips. Someone would push a trolley up to the sink, that was stacked with industrial pots and baking trays with baked-on scunge. Once a chef threw a burning hot pan from the other side of the kitchen into the sink ( I was standing next to the sink ). Some of the pots were so big you had to fit your shoulders inside to reach the bottom to clean it. It wasn’t as bad as selling Insurance though. If you had to eat the same meal every day, what would it be?
I would go to the Fisherman’s Table in Oriental Bay and have “catch of the day” and mucho extras from their salad bar...Name a few books that you couldn't put down, would read again, haunt you still.
Catcher in the Rye, The Drifters, Future Shock, The Andy Warhol Diaries. I actually prefer picture books.What have you done, seen, experienced, or produced that was a disappointment to you?
I don’t really think about those things. I must say some of the City Gallery exhibitions have been pretty horrid in the last couple of years (screaming videos to do with rape, and stupid (yes, I think they were stupid) post-modern multimedia installations.What was the most recent live performance you attended, and where was it presented?
Nathan Haines with Roy the Roach at Sandwiches was a good night. It would have been nice to see him when he played more trad jazz with his dad and brother, but I missed it.In one sentence, can you define art?
No. I don’t really think you could define it in ten sentences - Imagine trying to explain it to an alien who could speak English. The alien out of Predator would probably understand art - he was a pretty arty sort of alien...What word of advice would you offer an aspiring artist in your field?
Get on the internet.Where would you like to live, but have yet to?
VanuatuWhat would you like to do, but have yet to?
Get a bloody drivers license. I have been putting it of for years. Wellington is such a bad city for learning to drive.Briefly describe a project you are planning for the future.
Small movie, I could say more about it but its a secret.What one question would you add to this Query?
Say something about an art piece you are working on at the moment.BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:Born 1978BA Film Victoria University 2001Graduate Diploma in Digital MediaCo-Organised both “Black Sheep Exhibitions” Group Art showsHas exhibited and painted artworks in Wellington for the last 6 years.
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ENDNOTE

'Close the Arts Council, let children in for free - and give us money.
Lots of money'

What would you do for culture if you were running the next government?
Leo Benedictus puts the question to 50 leading arts figures

Thursday April 21, 2005
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,1464727,00.html



Raymond Gubbay
Impresario
My one thing would be to abolish the Arts Council. It's a waste of time. Its work could be done by a single civil servant and a secretary ticking off a list on a wet Wednesday afternoon. I think the Arts Council has lost its way, and is not doing an awful lot of good by being the buffer between the government and recipients. A much more efficient system could be put in place without having all these so-called experts allocating grants that are 95% automatic anyway. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport should just give out the money.

Article continues
Neil McGregor
Director, British Museum
I would like to see a coherent cultural foreign policy. One of the UK's great strengths is its public collections - particularly the British Library, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens. Between them you have the whole world of animal, vegetable, mineral and intellectual. So I would like to see the government make a reality of these institutions' original remits to be held in trust for the whole world - for instance, making sure that the British Museum website was also available in Chinese.

Nicholas Hytner
Artistic director, National Theatre
I'm not so concerned with cultural policy - the less cultural policy, the better. The worry for me is that generations of kids are being brought up who won't be able to know what they like. The old liberal humanist education that gave students a framework through which they could appreciate, interpret and enjoy has not yet evolved into something that addresses or includes enough of tomorrow's audience. I don't feel I can make specific proposals, but I think that results-orientated arts education is less important than a commitment to introduce all kids regularly, not just once a year, to live arts, galleries and museums. We're on our way to creating generations who have no ability to cope with any kind of complexity or reference to the past. That is a looming disaster.

Siobhan Davies
Choreographer
I would like to put the environment at the centre of all policy, and encourage and support artists to help people to act. I went up to the Arctic with a group of other artists about a month ago with Cape Farewell. It made such an impact on us - we all realised that if we don't each change and become better at working and living on this planet, then there won't be anything left to make art with. Artists can help get us to enjoy the idea of using less energy. We mustn't think of it in terms of restriction, but in terms of invention.

Tracey Emin
Artist
I want better education and policing in my street. I want more money put into the NHS and more money put into research for cancer and HIV.
Unfortunately, art seems to be a luxury at the moment. As an artist, I say the arts are completely underfunded, but the fear on the streets where I live are my greater concern.

Estelle
Singer
I'd make it mandatory for schools to offer music business studies as a GCSE subject. Music is something that always interests kids. You could teach both music and the music industry, explaining how to work in the business, deal with accounts and lawyers and everything else. Learning sheet music should be mandatory - you'll probably never use it unless you're going to be a musician, but it will be in your head, like geography.

Ken Shuttleworth
Architect
We must somehow get rid of all the bureaucracy that goes with getting the money from the Department for Education and Skills and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, so I would privatise the tendering process for government design contracts. A lot of time and money is wasted in endless committees talking about how to get the money in the first place. If you could just cut through it all and get to the point, that would be a major benefit. If it was done by the private sector, it would be much more streamlined.

David Farr
Co-artistic director, Bristol Old Vic
It always slightly infuriates me that no one is ever able to precisely quantify the economic legacy of arts funding. As a result, subsidy of the arts industry is vulnerable in a way that far greater subsidy of other manufacturing industries, such as agriculture or transport, is not. The government should undertake a comprehensive economic evaluation of what goes in and what comes out of the arts industry. In Britain, a solely humanist argument for arts funding falls on deaf ears. The now defunct educational argument led to skewed decision-making where funding was available for just about anything other than actually making work. The economic argument is therefore an essential tool in maintaining a vibrant and varied culture. Not the only tool, but one we should not be afraid of.

Anthony Sargent
General director, the Sage, Gateshead
We all invest in places like the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and the RSC through the Arts Council, so I think the government should place some formal, quantifiable requirement on the BBC to show some of the major productions from the subsidised performing venues on their terrestrial channels. By raising grants, this government has made some of the important work of these venues achievable, but it is still only accessible to the small circle of people who live in the catchments of those theatres.

British Sea Power
Musicians
The government must lead by example. Tony Blair could be forced to reform his university rock band Ugly Rumours. Easy! People would pay top dollar to watch tuff-tit Tony do his Jagger routine in ballet tights and the kind of jacket worn by a street-fighting 18th-century turnpike warden. The idea could be extended to the other parties, too.
So Michael Howard could proudly represent his Romanian roots by buying an accordion and doing some of the turbofolk and Gypsy techno that is real big in the east. Charles Kennedy could enjoy a few drams and strut and holler with the Proclaimers. Just one tour would provide enough cash for endless arts-for-the-people. Come on, government. Lead by example!

Gillian Moore
Artistic director, London Sinfonietta
If I were in charge, I'd make a case for art being essential for a healthy, balanced and prosperous society. I'd insist on an arts component in every law, whether it's education, health, law and order or even defence. And I'd make no condescending assumptions about what people will actually like. Everybody can be bowled over by Ligeti, Miles Davies or Monteverdi. They just need to bump into it on a regular basis.

Nicholas Kenyon
Director, BBC Proms
New technology is breaking down barriers: performance, broadcast, recording, webcasting are overlapping. An enlightened cultural act would be to provide the resources to performing organisations in the UK to pay their performers so that everything they create can be made available free-to-air to all audiences, especially as an educational resource.

Charles Saumarez Smith
Director, National Gallery
I am in favour (for non-party political reasons) of the idea put forward in the Tory arts manifesto that there should be a National Acquisitions Fund. This is an idea that was first proposed by the Treasury in 1923 as a way of solving the problem that the national museums, particularly the National Gallery and the Tate, do not have the funds themselves to acquire great works of art in competition with foreign institutions.

Jane Rice
Circus Space I'd bring in a policy to ensure arts practitioners are paid a living wage. Starving in a garret and suffering for your art is romantic nonsense. I'd start with a better funding package for the sector as a whole and tax credits for creative individuals. Using the French social security system as a model, I would provide an income for freelance artists between engagements.

Victoria Miro
Gallerist
I would implement the American system whereby a gift of art can be deducted from tax as if it were a gift of cash. A fractional gift can also be made. If 10% is given on a work of £100,000 then £10,000 is deductible. The collector can enjoy the work in private and the museum is secure in knowing that it will come to them. I enjoy working with American collectors and institutions such as MoMA in New York, but I would love to see some of the important works that go abroad gifted to British collections.

Eric Nicoli
Chairman, EMI
The work of recording artists and producers in Europe is at a growing disadvantage to the US because of a nonsensical issue that can easily be resolved. Copyright in sound recordings lasts for 95 years in the US, but only 50 years in Europe. There will come a time when UK artists' records are in copyright in America but not here. With the digital boom, it will become increasingly difficult for artists to control their music, and both their income and the British economy will suffer. I would lobby Europe to extend copyright term across the EU to nearer the American standard. There would be no negative impact for consumers, and one of the UK's most successful cultural and economic exports would be protected.

Kevin Macdonald
Director, Touching the Void
My policy would be to give every schoolchild half-a-dozen free tickets a year to see opera, classical music, theatre and foreign language films - and they can have half-a-dozen free novels of their choice every year, too.

Terry Hands
Director, Clwyd Theatr Cymru
Wales rarely benefits from arts bonanzas on the other side of the border. With the Welsh Assembly government preparing to become fully responsible and accountable for arts policy and strategy, now would be the ideal time to back Welsh talent with increased means. From next year, six Welsh companies are to be funded directly by the assembly. If that new money were to come from the Lottery, say, then the old money could be released for others. At present Wales receives 4.5% of the Lottery pot. It is a figure that reflects the population but not previous neglect. A further 0.05% could effect a transformation.

Robert Newman
Comedian and writer
I'd make it much easier to sign on for as long as you like. It's hard for young artists just starting out today because Blair and Brown, while praising music and the arts, cancelled one of the key conditions that made life for the young artist possible: being able to draw the dole without hassle from The Man. The fact that one is working on non-profit-making art should in no way mean your money is stopped. One other suggestion would be that artists who accept funding from transnational corporations should only be allowed to exhibit their work in the foyers of private companies.

Django Bates
Musician
The arts improve everyone's quality of life, so invest in them with pride. Lose the snobbery that places some genres on a false pedestal:
invest fairly in our huge range of artistic talent. While arts education programmes proliferate, there are fewer and fewer places for graduating musicians, dancers and actors to perform. Support centres of excellence like Gateshead's Sage, but let's not forget smaller, creative venues. Protect these from speculators, and rescue those promoters who struggle to present well-crafted, cutting-edge new work on a local level. This policy won't generate financial profit, but will create confident, self-respecting communities and will enrich this country infinitely.

John Ashford
Theatre director, the Place
Wind up arts councils and fund artists through producers, promoters and curators of vision. Leave it to them to develop the art and its audiences, and stop funding them if they fail. Reverse the tide of overzealous health and safety legislation that makes spaces for the arts anodyne: restore their magic. Teach creativity properly in schools. Don't imagine the arts as society's medicine but as its recreational drug: by no means without danger, but a lot of fun - even mind-expanding - if used wisely.

Clive Gillinson
Managing director, London Symphony Orchestra Place the arts alongside education and health at the centre of society:
history judges civilisations largely by their arts and culture. The arts should therefore be core school curriculum subjects, and musical instrument tuition should be free for every pupil. Government departments should be empowered to back visionary developments - groundbreaking concepts - that go beyond current practice. And Arts Council funding decisions should be transparent, based on clearly enunciated principles, and support vision as well as the proven ability to deliver that vision.

Tony Hall
Chief executive, Royal Opera House
We need a foreign policy for the arts. We have in this country some of the best - I would say the best - performing arts, museums and galleries in the world. These could be used to show the world what a dynamic, creative country we live in. But I know how difficult it is to arrange tours, and when you do it's to places that can afford them. The Arts Council, DCMS and the British Council need to come together to present our arts abroad.

Stan Tracey
Musician
I would appoint somebody to ensure that there's more exposure for jazz on TV, something along the lines of the Old Grey Whistle Test. On the few jazz programmes that have been made, I've always noticed people in the audience who wouldn't usually come to jazz gigs. Jazz on TV would give them more of an opportunity to hear the music and decide whether or not they like it. So many people say, "I don't like jazz," but when you ask them what they've heard, they've heard nothing.

Nick Broomfield
Film-maker I think the advertising industry should make a contribution to the arts. Advertising draws on the training of artists from our arts schools, which can have an unwelcome corrupting effect. There should be a levy on all advertisers that would go directly into arts funding. And they should put a levy on all art sales at Bonham's, Sotheby's and Christie's. Maybe set it at 5% and use the money to fund bursaries at art colleges.

Amanda Levete
Architect, Future Systems
Architecture and design should be included in the mainstream of primary and secondary education. At the moment it's just not part of our
culture: many civil servants think of design as an optional, superficial gesture but children are unconsciously receptive to it and this sense needs to be harnessed. The subject should not be seen as
academic: it is completely unimportant to be able to distinguish between, say, a Georgian and a Victorian house. What matters is understanding how spaces are different from one another and how positive and uplifting their effect can be.

Chris Smith
Former Secretary of State for Culture
I would introduce six-year funding agreements for trusted and successful arts organisations. I feel very strongly that there needs to be more trust in the funding system where organisations are obviously doing good work. The need to monitor them, with reports, and fund them on a year-by-year basis really ties people's hands. Peter Brook told me this was why he went to work in France. He wanted to know why they couldn't just trust him to get on and produce good art. When you have someone of that standing, with that track record, surely it must be possible to do that.

Ian Bostridge
Opera singer
I would implement existing broadcasting guidelines rigidly. I think the ITC rules are quite strict, but governments, for fear of appearing high-minded and elitist, can be lax. I know the guidelines worked very well in the case of Channel 5, because the ITC leaned on the station, and now they produce fantastic public service broadcasting.

Gary Crosby
Musician, bandleader and producer
Support for international touring would be particularly helpful for British arts and artists. The problem is that artists are able to attain a high level of proficiency and status in the UK thanks to the financial support available from arts councils and other funders.
However, when overseas promoters try to book British talent, they find that the artist cannot afford to tour overseas. We come across this all the time and it is incredibly frustrating for the artists and for those who devote their lives to developing and promoting them.

Ken Loach
Film-maker
In the long term, I'd like to see cinemas owned and programmed by people who care about films rather than popcorn. Until that happy day, I'd like to see a return to the Eady levy, a tax on admission prices, which could go into creating a chain of cinemas in every town of reasonable size. They would show British, European and world cinema (including independent American productions), so that the breadth of films available could be seen by everyone, instead of just the narrow industrial range that we have at the moment.

John Tusa
Director, the Barbican
The government must embrace elitism in the arts because it is the only way to deliver excellence. This would be a fundamental attitudinal change. The present government have got themselves into such a knot over elitism that they seem not to care about the quality of what is being done. They spend so much of their time talking about getting the right audiences because they are so worried about arts activities seeming elitist - but one of the reasons that it seems this way is that they spend all this time saying that it is. The only thing that matters in the arts is that they're excellent.

Will Alsop
Architect
I would close down the Arts Council and introduce, in advance, tax relief on donations to the arts. The Arts Council doesn't have much money to give out - nowhere near enough to support the construction of new facilities or grant aid to the ones that we have, let alone think about new ones. I've seen tax relief on donations to the arts in operation in Canada. It is extremely effective and helps to form longer-lasting relationships, while grants are only made for one year over here.

Sandy Nairne
Director, National Portrait Gallery
The most important single change for the new government is to signal that the arts are essential to Britain. This means accepting that everyone has a "right to art", as much as they have a right to education, or a right to a national health service.

Joanna MacGregor
Musician
I propose the creation of one day when every art event was free, maybe all at the same time. So every concert would be free, every film, everything. People are quite aware of accessibility as an issue, in terms of ticket prices and all the rest of it, but I think art is still too insular. Opening it up for a day would make the artists think about what they were making: what could you do for that day? You'd want to make it really good because it would be your big chance to reach everybody.

Emma Rice
Artistic director, Kneehigh Theatre
I want to create a risk fund, a significant pot of money to enable established theatre-makers to work beyond their remit. Funds should be awarded to companies, as opposed to applied for, at key stages of their development to reignite or divert the creative process. You wouldn't expect it, and you certainly wouldn't get it on a regular basis; it would depend on the relationship you had with your local arts council.

Simon Thackray
Director, The Shed (and creator of the Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race) With immediate effect, all employees and members of the Arts Council and art departments of local and national government (including art and music teachers) are required to take an Enthusiasm Detector Test (EDT).
Adapted from lie-detector equipment, the EDT is impossible to fake and will identify the real arts evangelists who are the key to audience development in Britain today. And I am delighted to announce that enthusiasm top-up cards will be available free to all from art galleries, theatres and concert halls from tomorrow.

Richard Farnes
Music director, Opera North
I am concerned with music education in schools - especially the lack of a consistent provision for live classical music on a large scale. The quality of our professional orchestras in this country is fantastic.
Children should be given every chance to experience them and be shown that classical music is not an elitist or ageing art form. This provision should be a core part of the curriculum and not an extra for the few.

Michael Nunn
Co-artistic director, George Piper Dances (and a Ballet Boy) If I were prime minister for the day, I would look at the current education policy. My profession, dance, is not seen as an art form on a level with art and music in schools, but grouped within physical education. More often than not it is taught by PE teachers without special training, which seems completely inappropriate. Dance can provide many valuable skills beyond basic fitness: self-expression, confidence and social skills, to name a few. We can develop and improve our society in these areas by improving the teaching of dance and treating it as a subject in its own right.

Annie Wood
Artistic director, Polka Theatre for Children If I was prime minister, I would make all theatre free for children and young people, and drama a compulsory subject in schools. When I was a drama teacher, I saw students who were failing academically and socially have their self esteem and lives turned around by finding their voice through drama and theatre. I have seen struggling schools feel proud again and brought together through collective theatre making. Access to the arts should be a right, not a privilege.

Robert Robson
Artistic director, Lowry Centre I would love to see a written commitment to arts funding that ensures stability, supports audience development and genuinely encourages creativity. Within that, I'd like to see regional centres such as the Lowry, the Millennium Centre and the Sage be able to flourish. The arts in Britain should be funded on a similar level to other countries in Europe so we can all collaborate internationally.

Deborah Aydon
Executive director, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse My policy would be to make culture absolutely central to everyone's life, and I would start at birth with something rather like the child's trust fund. Every child would automatically receive a voucher to enjoy a piece of culture once a year, to be redeemed at the box offices or in the galleries. This would also encourage families to get involved with culture. And, of course, give us lots and lots more money.

Beccy Smith and Penny Francis
The Puppet Centre Trust
In the past, puppetry and other alternative theatre forms have suffered from a relative lack of support for their work. I'd make it a priority to increase and sustain funding to the support structures that nurture artistic development - networks, agencies, festivals, and venues of all sizes - as they offer artists the opportunity to create and realise work, and a context in which their ideas may flourish.

Kwame Kwei-Armah
Playwright and actor
I would make sure that funding to the arts is at least 4% above inflation. One of the wonderful things about living in London is that anywhere you look there is culture - that's partly why we pay inflated prices for our homes and our services. So it's terribly important that the artistic community and our artistic institutions do not constantly feel under threat, are not technologically behind everyone else, and do not find themselves having to use a begging bowl to correct it. I think 4% is a reasonable figure, and an achievable one.

Sakari Oramo
Music director, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Arts Council budgets should be decided for five years at a go, and preferably set in stone by a law, as they are in Finland. The lack of predictability regarding funding is a problem, as is the egalitarian approach, which disregardsexcellence, adventure and achievement. I suggest that a range of criteria including outreach, education, promotion of contemporary arts, the range and quality of international activities and inclusivity in the community should be considered. These factors would be reviewed by a panel, and hitting certain targets would result in bonus funding.

Alice Rawsthorn
Director, Design Museum
I would make all museums free to the general public. The introduction of free admission to the big national museums is one of Labour's most successful cultural policies but, unfortunately, has made life tougher for other museums. The public now believes - quite rightly - that museums should be free, and it would be relatively simple and inexpensive for the government to make that a reality. The popularity of the Weather Project at Tate Modern proved how magical a challenging but inspiring work of art can be for the general public - imagine that replicated across the country.

Ian Rickson
Artistic director, Royal Court Theatre

This is my three-point plan:

1. Follow the Irish government in liberating working artists from paying tax. So many playwrights in this country live below the poverty line, producing work against the odds.

2. Restore drama, music and art as core subjects in the National Curriculum in schools. There is such creative potential in young people in this country, which could be released under the right conditions.

3. Return support to the arts as a whole to the levels of the first Labour term. We did not expect such a conservative retreat in public funding.

Roy Williams
Playwright
There should be more exposure for young people's work, both as theatre and as education. I worked in young people's theatre when I was an actor and learned never to underestimate the importance of that first introduction to live theatre. A system of properly funded theatre schools would make a valuable contribution to the country.

Martin Duncan
Co-artistic director, Chichester Festival Theatre I would like to see an improvement in the access to world-class art across the UK. It should be available to every community in the country, too, through careful programming, affordable tickets and outreach work. Even the tiniest towns in Germany and France have their own producing theatres - you feel that the arts are an important thing there. Increased funding, granted with great fanfare as a national initiative for the arts, would help show that the government was serious.

Michael Boyd
Artistic director, RSC
If I were prime minister, I would accept the high moral risk of taking an unusual British leap of faith in properly funding the arts. Taking a leadership position on the importance of the arts for the future moral and spiritual well-being of our country is no greater, and much less expensive than, for instance, the high moral risk of war.