Archive for March, 2010
« Older EntriesManukau Libraries Hold Tivaevae Demonstrations
Traditional Cook Island Tivaevae demonstrations are set to add colour to Manukau’s Pasifika Celebrations this week. Three Manukau libraries are hosting the demonstrations as part of the city’s celebrations of its Pacific diversity. Manukau is home to 88,000 Pacific people, almost 28 per cent of its 330,000 population. Samoan is the second most spoken language in Manukau, after English. The demonstration are free and can be viewed at the following dates and venues:
- Wednesday, 17 March, 2010, 10.30am, Mangere Town Centre Library
- Thursday, 18 March, 2010, 12.30pm, Pakuranga Library
- Wednesday, 24 March, 2010, 10.30am, Otara Library
For more information, see www.manukau-libraries.govt.nz or phone 262 5101 ext 8697.
Jeffry Feeger Exhibits “Buka Market” at Whitespace
Emerging Papua New Guinean artist, Jeffry Feeger, opens a solo exhibition today (Tuesday 16 March 2010) at the Whitespace Gallery in Auckland (12 Crummer Rd, Ponsonby). Of this exhibition, Feeger says “my recent works are concerned with lives of people around me. For me it is a way of capturing truth in life. I chose to paint realism, although I experiment with texture and light and incorporate themes that are symbolic to current social issues”. Buka is off Bougainville Island where a deadly civil war raged during the 1980s and 1990s. The exhibition runs at Whitespace until Sunday 4 April, 2010.
Pollywood 8 Celebrates Another Good Year for Pacific Island Short Films
The eighth edition of Pollywood, a festival of Pacific Island short films, is on today (Tuesday 16 March 2010) at the Otara Music Arts Centre, Bairds Road, Otara. The festival is organised by Craig Fasi and celebrates Pacific Island directors, writers, actors and artists, from grassroots to established practitioners in film and multi-media art. The films that will screen include:
- Koe Mafeaga Hala – Crossroads, produced by Taoga Niue and directed by Shane Tohovaka. This is a hard hitting documentary confronting issues regarding tradition and progression of a struggling nation
- Uso and Sole 2, directed and produced by Grayham Hall. This is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, winning the audience choice award in 2008 for the first instalment.
- One Year Later, Danny Maalo Aso Aumua /Aden Shillito
- Ko Te Tau Ata Mou Kore – Shifting Shadows, Itiri Ngaro
- To’Onai, DF Mamea and Daniel Power
- Granada, Marina Alofagia McCartney
The show opens at 7 pm and the entry fee is $5.00. Another screening will be held at Corbans Estate Art Centre, 426 Great North Road, Henderson on Thursday 18 March, 7.30pm – 9pm ($5.00 entry).
Albert Wendt Wins Commonwealth Writer’s Prize
Albert Wendt, one of New Zealand’s and the Pacific’s foremost storytellers, has won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for the Asia Pacific Region for his novel The Adventures of Vela. “It is a great honour to be recognised in this way” said Professor Wendt at the Awards Ceremony in Sydney last week. “Vela has been a character I have thought about for a long time so this is a lifetime’s work”. Wendt won ahead of several prominent finalists including J. M. Coetzee (Australia and Nobel Prize Winner), Peter Carey (Australia) and Thomas Keneally (Australia). The Adventures of Vela now goes through to the final phase of the competition where an international judging panel will meet to decide the overall Commonwealth winners for Best Book and Best First Book with other regional winners from Africa, Caribbean, Canada, South Asia and Europe. The announcement of the two overall winners will take place on Monday 12 April 2010. Albert Wendt is one of the Starmap champions.
POLYFEST 2010: The Largest Cultural Festival of its Kind in the World
South Auckland is about to be invaded by students, spectators, colourful costumes and dynamic dances from schools all over Auckland. From March 17 to 20 2010, the Manukau Sportsbowl will be home once again to the annual ASB Polyfest, the largest cultural festival of its kind in the world. This year, the festival marks a significant milestone in its existence. The festival celebrates its 35th anniversary. Polyfest started with just four schools – Seddon High School (now Western Springs College), Aorere College Mangere College, and Hillary College (now Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate). By 1978, more than 20 schools had Polyfest teams. In 2009, more than 9000 students from 59 schools competed, watched by a crowd of 90,000 over four days. Entry to this year’s festival is $ 4.00. For more details, see www.asbpolyfest.co.nz.
(Story adapted from the Papakura Courier)
Helen Clark Opens MANUIA in New York
Current United Nations Development Programme Administrator and former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, is to open “Manuia” in New York. “Manuia” is the first Contemporary Cook Island exhibition curated by Ben Bergman from Beachcomber Contemporary Art Gallery, Rarotonga and will show at The American Indian Community House Gallery, New York, from 15 March to 29 May 2010. The exhibition features photographer and painter Mahiriki Tangaroa, video artist Jerome Sheddon (in collaboration with celebrated carver Mike Tavioni), multi-media artist Kay George and New Zealand/Pacific artists Michel Tuffery and Andy Leleisi’uao.
Call for Applications: Pacific Writer in Residence at the University of Hawaii
Fulbright New Zealand and Creative New Zealand invite applications for the 2010 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency, an award which offers a New Zealand writer of Pacific heritage the opportunity to work for three months on a creative writing project exploring Pacific identity, culture or history at the University of Hawai‘i. Valued at NZ$30,000, the residency includes return airfares to Hawai‘i, accommodation costs and a monthly stipend. It is open to writers across all genres, including fiction and non-fiction authors, poets and playwrights. Previous recipients have included children’s author Sarona Aiono-Iosefa, poet Tusiata Avia, playwright Victor Rodger and filmmakers Sima Urale and Toa Fraser. The three month residency is available from August to November 2010. The closing date for applications is Thursday 1 April 2010. See http://www.fulbright.org.nz/awards/nz-cnz.html for detailed information. Enquiries should go to Felicity Birch at Creative New Zealand - felicity.birch@creativenz.govt.nz or phone (04) 498 0735.
New Search Begins for New Zealand’s Best Street Dancers
Dancers from around the nation will bring their creative choreography, intense performance, and individuality to the stage in hopes to gain the title of 2010 New Zealand Street Dance Champion. Platforming New Zealand’s top competitive crews, the National Champs event will embrace the street dance culture and introduce the new BBOY 3on3 Battle. The search continues this Saturday 13 March 2010 with the regional event in Wellington. This is followed by the Waikato/BOP regional event on 20 March and Northland regional event on 27 March. The BBOY 3 on 3 Battle takes place at the National finals, Telstra Clear Pacific Arena, Great South Rd, Manukau on 9 and 10 April 2010. For more information visit www.sdnz.org.nz.
National Museum Purchases Daniel Waswas Painting
Congratulations are in order for Papua New Guinea contemporary artist Daniel Waswas. His magnificent work Look Within II has been purchased by Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in Wellington. Look Within II was one of three Waswas works exhibited at the recent “Ancestors of the Realm Exhibition” at the Kaohshiung Museum in Taiwan. Aucklanders can view the other two pieces and have coffee with Daniel this coming Monday 15 March 2010 at 11am at the okaioceanikart@Reef Gallery, 69 Beach Rd, Auckland.
(Look Within II, by Daniel Waswas. Acrylic on canvas, 2000 x 1500mm. The painting was recently purchased by the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum)
“Plastic”: A Solo Exhibition by Award Winning Designer Czarina Alisi Wilson
Fresh Gallery Otara is proud to present the highly anticipated first solo exhibition of Czarina Wilson, an award winning young designer with over ten years of experience creating boundary pushing garments for Westfield Style Pasifika, Villa Maria Cult-Couture and the Montana World of Wearable Arts competitions. In her first solo exhibition, her works examine the struggles of being hafekasi and negotiating acceptance from both Tongan and Pākehā communities. The exhibition opens on Thursday 18 March and runs until 10 April 2010. An interview will feature on Tagata Pasifika on TVNZ One tonight. For all exhibition enquiries, email Nicole.Lim@manukau.govt.nz or call 09 271 6019.
(Image courtesy of Fresh Gallery Otara)
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