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Blogs / October 2008

November 2008 | September 2008
    • Dom-Post Arts Column gets the Axe
      • Dominion Post journalist, Mark Amery, has had his weekly arts column dumped. Marks regular Dom feature reviewed and discussed the goings on in the Wellington arts scene. It was a sometimes lonely voice, trying to bring arts knowledge and opinion into the more mainstream media’s focus.
      • Tagged as:
      • art
      • media

    • Myth and Practice - Film, Video and Sound Work by Sriwhana Spong Opens Tonight at Film Archive
      • Auckland-based artist Sriwhana Spong has been exploring the medium of video art for over 6 years and has steadily gained momentum in her practice. Her new show and installation Myth and Practice includes film, video and sound work that was developed during a recent residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York earlier this year. The show opens at the Film Archive tonight,Spong's work explores identity, mythology, nostalgia and impressions. Highly cinematic, her pieces evoke both a subtle anxiety and a sort of sci-fi romanticism. Three pieces feature in Myth and Practice. For Chelsea Hotel, Spong roamed the corridors of the hotel and captured the  mythologised building with hand-wound, black and white Super 8.The Birds is a sound work which was created through the direct translation of an image of birds sitting on a telephone wire into a 21 second piano piece. It is scored by Godfrey de Grut and interpreted visually by Kelvin Soh and Simon Oosterdijk of The Wilderness design team.Room 424 is a series of photographs taken of what is known as Leonard Cohen's former residence at the Chelsea Hotel. A graduate of the Elam School of Fine Arts, Spong was the recipient of the coveted Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award in 2005. She will also speak about her practice at the Film Archive on Friday at 12.15pm.Myth and PracticeFilm Archive5.30pm tonightFree- Kiran  
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      • blogs

    • Tae Kwon Do World Champs
      • Wellington has secured the rights to host the 2011 Tae Kwon Do (or Taekwondo, Taekwan-Do, or other variations, depending on where you look) World Champs. New Zealand finished 3rd at the 2007 World Champs (note, link is to a PDF of the medals table), and, with the sport thriving in NZ, the home team is expected to do well with the next event on home turf.
      • Tagged as:
      • self-defence

    • Samurai Store Coming
      • Almost in order to prove that rumours of the death of genuine, good quality music retailers in this country have been greatly exaggerated, on November 6 Wellington will have a new specialist music retail store.
      • Tagged as:
      • music
      • retail

        • 151 Willis Street, Wellington


    • Jenny Bornholdt's New Collection of Poems Launched at Unity Books...
      • Wellington poet Jenny Bornholdt is one of New Zealand's best-loved writers and her new book of autobiographical poems The Rocky Shore will be launched at Unity Books on Thursday evening. Wine, nibbles and good cheer will be offered to celebrate the publication, and Bornholdt will be present to give a reading.Bornholdt has a wry, observational writing style, and she often writes about family and everyday objects - the latter which she has a special knack for transforming into objects of wonder. Poems in The Rocky Shore also deal with a time when Bornholdt battled a long-term illness. Her poems are personal yet resonant but above all - warm, funny and insightful.Since she attended Bill Manhire's original composition course at Victoria University in 1984, Bornholdt has continually published poetry collections, from This Big Face (1984) to Summer (2003) and now The Rocky Shore. With her husband writer/artist/curator Gregory O'Brien, she co-edited the wildly popular My Heart Goes Swimming: New Zealand Love Poems, which won the Montana Book Award for Poetry in 1995.Bornholdt's contribution to New Zealand poetry has been acknowledged in the many prestigious awards she has received. In 2002 she was awarded the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship in Menton, France (during which the poems for Summer were shaped). In 2003 she was the recipient of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Awards, which is one of New Zealand's largest literary cash awards, and in 2005 she became the fifth Te Mata Estate New Zealand Poet Laureate.30 October6pmUnity Books57 Willis StreetFree- Kiran 
      • Tagged as:
      • books

    • Anti-racism rally and picnic
      • Remember a few years ago when a bunch of punks dressed up as fairies chased the National Front guys around the Railway Station beating them up? LOLarama. Anyhow... Anti-racism activists will be holding a rally and picnic at the Wellington Cenotaph at 10am on Saturday October 25. The rally and picnic is in opposition to plans to hold a "Flag Day" rally by the "Nationalist Alliance", a coalition comprising the National Front, New Right and National Democrats. More about these asshats after the jump.... read more
      • Tagged as:
      • events

    • Seriously good.
      • There's a great line in a Simpsons episode (well there's a plethora of them really) when C. Montgomery Burns is viewing the less-than-flattering nude portrait of him which Marge has painted. In his typically non-plussed manner, he states "I don't know much about art, but I know what I hate; and I don't hate this."Now, I don't profess to know much about art either, but Adagio-Seriously Sophisticated Circus had me enthralled and not thinking about hate one bit. From the opening minute, when each of the performers was introduced to the audience in a sequence which had us in a quandry as to which performer to focus on, to the mirror-image closure, I was amazed, amused, and just plain entertained in a way that I'm not generally accustomed to. But I liked it. A lot.Without being able to properly dissect the performance, to verbalise the nuances of the techniques deployed, or even identify the performers correctly, I'll at least have a crack and break it down to a Monty Burns-esqe critique. Adagio combines live music, comedy, pantomime, dance and most of all (as the name implies) amazing feats of gymnastic ability on an array of 'equipment' (chairs, swings, ropes etc). The two main protagonists were a diminutive male and a blonde female whose pure strength and incredible poise was so immense and impressive that you would think it looked so easy, but then you'd digest what they were doing and imagine trying to do it yourself, summising with a mental "no way!". This was my second experience at Downstage, after the also brilliant Strike earlier this year, and if the quality of these two shows is an indicator of the fare on offer, then I can see myself making more regular visits. And I'd recommend that everyone should get along and experience Adagio... it's been extended, so there's no reason not too. Might even make it back for seconds myself.Thanks to Markus at Downstage.Brett Kennedy
      • Tagged as:
      • fares

        • Hannah Playhouse, 12, Cambridge Terrace, Mount Victoria, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • The Biggest Dancefloor in Wellington
      • The Garden Club on Dixon Street is Wellington’s newest events-driven bar and venue. Its site had previously housed Imerst bar, and before that, Wellingtons cathedral to the gods of trance, Phoenix. But the powers behind Garden Club have stripped away all that have gone before.   They’ve invoked a new legacy based around a classy environment, some massive live acts, and an attitude of pure enjoyment for all involved. The site has been re-designed by non-other than Matterhorns architect, Alister Cox.  Garden Clubs main area houses the largest specialised dancefloor in the city.  It's powered by a rather imposing JBL sound rig, which will no doubt change your mind on what you currently understand as being the limitations of sound. Bars on not one, but two floors have been freshly renovated and are ready and willing to let the sweet nectar flow.  You have a main area bar downstairs, for an easy refresher before re-entering the frenzied fray.  Or if you're just looking for a bit of chill-time, bundle your comrades off to more relaxed surroundings in the Terrace bar upstairs.  Professional (And most likely very good-looking) bartenders will be on hand to make sure your drinks come thick, fast, and very well-made. There will be several weekly events held at the Garden Club – including a drum and bass DJ selection on Thursdays and a powerful mix of house and hip-hop on Friday nights. But there will be an assortment of goodies on its way from the good folk at Garden Club.  Both international and local DJs or bands will be coming to their house in the very near future, so keep an eye here on Texture to see what might be coming soon. The Garden Club can be found at 13 Dixon Street. -Darren
      • Automatically tagged as:
      • blogs

    • Greens launch Wellington Transport Plan
      • The Greens have just launched their new Wellington Transport Plan, complete with Green MP Sue Kedgley as their Wellington Transport Spokesperson. Wellington has a pretty kick-arse public transport system as it is, with a well used network of buses, trolley buses, trains and the good ol' cable car.
      • Tagged as:
      • transport

    • Congratulations Sandwiches!
      • For the second year running, Sandwiches has won the "Best music entertainment venue" category in the Hospitality Association of New Zealand's awards for excellence! Since its win last year, Sandwiches has continued to run to high professional standards and is now considered one of the country's best entertainment venues, say the judges. The HANZ awards have been operating for eleven years, and attract entries from all around the country. Chief executive Bruce Robertson says "The 16 categories cover all major areas in hospitality, and have changed over the years to reflect changing tastes and lifestyles. Now, more than ever, operators have to keep up with trends and maintain high standards - or they'll be out of business." Four Kings on Dixon Street also picked up the "Best sports bar" award. Well done to the team at Sandwiches!  
      • Automatically tagged as:
      • blogs

    • Mounting a squid
      • Work is underway preparing the mounting system for the colossal squid in its display tank. Mark kent and Robert Clendon preparing the squid for exhibition. Image copyright Te Papa Unless the squid is supported by acrylic mounts it will remain a collapsed heap on the bottom of the tank - not very appealling! To display it in as realistic pose as possible a series of supports will be manufactured to splay the tentacles out so the beak can be seen, and to expand the mantle from its collapsed position. The squid will be slightly angled to one side in the tank, so it will be possible to see the eye and even the funnel, which is on the under side of the mantle. lighting inside the tank will illuminate the specimen from the sides - eliminating any glare or reflection from the surface of the preservative. Te Papa conservators Mark Kent and Robert Clendon have to work with the specimen partially supported by the liquid preservative. The arms are held in the desired position using plastic food wrap while they prepare the template. The template will then be used to cut the final acrylic mount. Once the templates are completed and the mounts made, the specimen will be moved to the museum building at Cable Street and mounted properly, before the lid is placed on the tank it is filled with the preservative solution. Preparing the mount template. Image copyright Te Papa   Museum conservators and mount makers have to deal with objects ranging from artefacts to fine art sculptures. The colossal squid is a new challenge!       
      • Automatically tagged as:
      • blogs
      • te-papa

    • Rare fern rediscovered.
      • I’m one of the Botany Curators at Te Papa, and ferns are one of my specialties.  New Zealand has about 200 native ferns, and some of them are very rare.  We recently rediscovered one rare fern that had been ‘lost’.  I was beginning to wonder if it had become extinct, but fortunately it has not.  Still, the known total of individuals is still only 9, and this population is only a goat-lunch away from extinction! Me, on top of the Ruahine Ranges. No rare ferns sighted up here, but interesting nonetheless. The rediscovered fern is a maidenhair spleenwort.  It had been definitively identified from just three New Zealand sites, all in Hawke’s Bay, and all dating to the 1950’s.  The localities of these three sites were not precisely recorded, and no one I talked to knew of a living population.   I enlisted the help of the Manawatu Botanical Society to search one of these sites (the most precise one, which involved searching several square km rather than several tens of square km).  I wasn’t very optimistic, given the amount of time since it had been previously collected and that I had already looked at a number of similar Hawke’s Bay sites.  But, we found it - 9 plants in one very small area.  There is another maidenhair spleenwort in NZ, and it is quite common.  These two maidenhair spleenworts look similar, but they have different chromosome numbers; the common one has six sets of chromosomes while the rare one has four sets.  This kind of difference is usually treated at the subspecies or even species level in ferns.   Unfortunately, the present taxonomy, or formal scientific naming, for these ferns is not adequate.  We hope to sort this out in the next year or so.  They have both been called Asplenium trichomanes, but this fern does not occur in NZ (at least when interpreted in a narrow sense).  The rare maidenhair spleenwort in NZ has also been called Asplenium trichomanes subsp. quadrivalens; whether this is correct remains to be established. Maidenhair spleenwort. This is the rare species, but the common one looks very similar. The two maidenhair spleenworts usually occur on or near limestone.  They can be distinguished from all other ferns in NZ by their undivided, black, almost smooth stems, and by having their reproductive structures in lines away from the margins of the undersides of their leaves.  This particular arrangement of the reproductive structures characteristics all of the spleenwort (Asplenium) species, of which there are about 20 in NZ (and some 600 in the world). I’d be interested in learning of additional maidenhair spleenwort sites in Hawke’s Bay.  Both species of maidenhair spleenwort have been recorded from the Hawke’s Bay, so any new finds may be the rare or the common species.  I would need to closely inspect them to be sure.  But, please, do not remove them from the wild!  Email (leonp@tepapa.govt.nz) or phone (04 381 7261) me the locality details. Te Papa’s Collections Online includes a photo of a maidenhair spleenwort specimen collected from the Hawke’s Bay in 1881 (it’s the common species, rather than the rare one).  The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network also has more information about maidenhair spleenworts.       
      • Automatically tagged as:
      • blogs
      • te-papa

    • Local Hip-Hop about to go Ballistic
      • It’s time to embrace the future of hip-hop – starting with Wellingtons own prodigy of rhyme-time, that man we call ‘Flowz.’  This local master of the mike can put many overseas lyricists to shame, which you can witness for yourself at his show, The Jam Sessions, at bar Bodega on Friday the 24th of October. Flowz (Whose real name is Fiso Siliota) will be accompanied by the USOS, along with guest stars of a weighty caliber, including hip-hop royalty in Dam Native,  DJ CXL (Ill Semantics), the Footsouljahs, Perceieve, Wanderers, Delta Sierra, F4, plus DJ Raw, Kerb1 & ninjasteps in the DJs cockpit.    Straight outta Lyall Bay, Flowz is definitely one rising MC to be respected.  You add in the power of Dam Native plus the skills of CXL and Raw, and boy, you have one hell of a fiery gig just waiting to go up in smoke. This show will also wet the appetites of those awaiting hip-hop Aotearoa – a celebration in respect of Kaupapa Maori Music Week - which will be shaking the Bodges walls on Thursday the 30th of Oct.  This one will be a terrific showcase of the young go-getters in Kiwi hip-hop, so make sure you are amped, primed and pumped after checking out Flowz and company the week before. Oh, and you can also win tickets to Flowz right here on Texture as well. For the rest of you it’s just $20 for tickets to ‘The Jam Sessions,’ which are on sale now from the Wakefield Hotel and Real Groovy on Cuba Street. -Darren
      • Tagged as:
      • cuba-street
      • lyall-bay

        • Lyall Bay, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand/Aotearoa (OpenStreetMap)


    • People's Empire
      • Newtown may or may not be a bit shit, but their right-on coffee company People's Coffee (sorry, I couldn't resist adding the apostrophe) certainly know their shit. Their presence in central Wellington is expanding, and two recently-opened cafés proudly stock the People's brand: Meow and Mon Ami.
      • Tagged as:
      • newtown
      • restaurants-and-bars

        • Newtown, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Adagio extended till 1 Nov
      • Good news! Downstage and Awkward Productions are proud to announce that ADAGIO’s season at the theatre is extended by popular demand till 1 November. The show, which takes circus out of the tent and into the theatre, features a blend of syncopated circus acts and music from Jonathan Crayford. Directed by Deborah Pope, ADAGIO received excellent feedback from both audiences and reviewers.Downstage also introduced a family pass for the 6.30 pm performances from Monday till Wednesday and the 3 pm matinee on Saturday 25 October. The family ticket is available at a price of $100 at the Downstage box office and on the phone and includes admission for two adults and two children.ADAGIO is a combination of physical theatre, circus, contemporary dance, music and comedy. With Mason West, Rowan Heydon-White, Angela Green, Jenny McArthur and Asalemo Tofete the show features five highly skilled physical performers, unique in their approach to theatre making, joined by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra double bassist Vicki Jones and jazz musician Rosie Langabeer.ADAGIO is playing at Downstage Theatre till 1 November, Monday to Wednesday at 6.30 pm and Thursday to Saturday at 7.30 pm, with an afternoon matinee at 3 pm on Saturday 25 October.Ticket prices range from $20 to $42. Tickets can be purchased online at www.downstage.co.nz, by phone at (04) 801 6946 or in person at Downstage’s box office.For more information on the show please visit www.downstage.co.nz/adagio“Adagio offers a beautifully crafted hour of existential physical theatre. Perfect spring fare."John Smythe, Theatreview.com“What a circus, what a show. Go see!”Laurie Atkinson, The Dominion Post“By far the most entertaining seventy minutes I had experienced at the theatre in a very long time. Just superb.” Texture.co.nz
      • Tagged as:
      • fares

        • Hannah Playhouse, 12, Cambridge Terrace, Mount Victoria, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Texture has won a Silver Award!
      • Texture has just won a Silver award in the Entertainment category at the W3 awards in the US!! Yeah!! How cool is that?!  The W³ Awards honours creative excellence on the web, and recognises the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning sites, marketing programs, and video work created for the web. We were up against 3000 entries from web companies from all over the world including major players such as the BBC site, Hollywood movie sites, and major non-profit organisations. The W³ is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a "Who's Who" of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Conde Nast, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, Fry Hammond Barr, HBO, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby's Institute of Art, Victoria Secret, Wired, Yahoo! and many others. We'll be collecting the trophy soon...
      • Automatically tagged as:
      • blogs

    • A designer walks into a bar...
      • Poor Auckland. Even though there are way more bars there than in Wellington, we just keep beating them in the bar awards. This year the Matterhorn won Best Casual Dining - Metropolitan, at the Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year 2008 Awards as well as the NZ Bar of the Year Award for the third year in a row. At the same awards, Matterhorn's Ricki Carter was named New Zealand's top bar manager of the year, Motel as the cocktail bar of the year and it was revealed that the Mighty Mighty offers the best music in New Zealand. But wait there's more. The latest accolades for Wellington bars come from the New Zealand BeST Design Awards, where once again, Wellington dominated. Three major awards were won in the hospitality design section by some of Wellington's finest nightspots at the Awards Ceremony held in Auckland last Saturday. Good Luck Bar received a Gold Award, Matterhorn a Silver Award and Mighty Mighty picked up a Bronze Award, all thanks to Alastair Cox, the designer of all three winning interiors. The BeST Design Awards are a national award programme of the Designers Institute of New Zealand, recognising New Zealand's best graphic, product and spatial design. -Stacey
      • Tagged as:
      • bars

    • Athfield rolling on
      • If you’re an architect or architectural groupie in Wellington, waking up this morning with a hangover, then you must have been at Athfield’s party last night. By all accounts, it was a “ripper of a night” and a great time was had, drunk and eaten by all.
      • Tagged as:
      • architecture

    • Bang Gang
      • I like dancin’...wait, scratch that, I luurve dancin’. I’m not saying I’m any good at it, but I’m also not saying I’m embarrassed about this or the fact that my first statement was both cheesy and shameless. Although “Dance” music can sometimes be a little constrictive for my tastes. There are a few purveyors worldwide of my kinda dancin’material. Ed Banger and Kitsune Maison are two, and the third of my personal trinity of awesomeness is Modular, from just across the ditch in Australia. Modular have bought us the likes of: The Presets, Cut Copy, Ladyhawke, New Young Pony Club, Muscles and much, much more. Which is why I am stoopid-excited that Modular’s premiere DJ troop “Bang Gang” are playing for the first time in Wellington. The Bang Gang Djs are a phenomenon in themselves. Far more than just Djs, they were pioneers in what has become a worldwide explosion of musical eclecticism on dancefloors. Starting in 2003 as a club night, they quickly attracted attention for their forward thinking, open music policy and hands down fun-as-f**k parties. They are now extensively travelled, playing all over the world. If you have seen them elsewhere you’ll know what I’m talking about. Their ‘Light Sound Dance’ mix CD of 2007 (known as LSD) has started many a party at mine, and they are now touring in support of the new one: “D is for Disco, E is for Dancing”. Expect everything from electro to techno to indie to disco to hip hop to rock to funk to house and moooore…all with tongue firmly in cheek, and all with moving feets in mind. Bang Gang. Saturday October 18th at Good Luck. With wingmen Marek and Kev Fresh. Presales are $15 and are available now from Real Groovy, Good as Gold, Good Luck and undertheradar.co.nz. You can download for freeeee a taster or two of their steeze (as well as a preview of the new cd) at www.banggangpodcast.com. - Chrisana
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      • blogs

    • Head Like A Hole Reform For Homegrown 2009 - Earlybird Tickets On Sale Now...
      • 90s Wellington rock brats Head Like A Hole have announced they will reform exclusively for the first time in 8 years for next year's Vodafone Homegrown Music Festival in March.HLAH established a strong reputation for their live shows. I remember seeing them play a few times and politely averting my eyes as they often played naked, smeared with mud or paint.Five stages will be set up along the waterfront and as well as HLAH, about 35 bands and DJs have been confirmed to perform. From rock and pop to roots and dub, bands include Supergroove, Fur Patrol, Evermore, Elemeno-P, Tiger Tones, Kora and the Black Seeds. Early bird tickets are available for $70 (plus booking fee) for a short time only. When they are sold out, tickets will be the full $90 (yes, plus booking fee).Vodafone HomegrownWellington Waterfront14 March 2009www.homegrown.net.nz- Kiran 
      • Tagged as:
      • waterfront

    • One more sleep till Craft2.0
      • Craft2.0 springs into the shopping season by returning to TheNewDowse on October 11th with a Craftastic Craftacular (don’t ask us what that means, but pretty much beyond fabulous is a good definition) There are over 60 crafters this time round and as always there is a mix of returning favourite crafters and brand shiny new ones.
      • Tagged as:
      • art
      • events
      • hutt-valley

        • Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Coffee you Feel !
      • Yes, that’s right - Havana Coffee, home to some of the best roasted beans and some of the choicest cuts of real estate too. The guys at Havana seem to have a handle on all their senses: a feel for what makes a great bar, a good eye for catchy graphics, a fine nose for roasting, and an ear out for some choice sites. Here’s three that we know of. First up is the original, the former roasting shop in Wigan St, composed of two little dwellings that are now home to a good bar.
      • Tagged as:
      • architecture
      • restaurants-and-bars
      • coffee

        • Wigan Street, Wellington


    • Deck You Out...
      • Manky Chops are at it again. And this time they’ve got downstairs neighbors, ALC clothing, in on the act. Cuba’s most fantastic underground art gallery and its most full-on clothing store have combined to bring the masses an art show with a difference. ‘Decked out,’ is an exhibition of skateboard canvases, which have been ‘art-ed up’ to display the talents of a range of artistic personalities.
      • Tagged as:
      • art
      • cuba-street

        • 166 Cuba Street, Wellington


    • Bake sale!
      • Q What could be better than sweet home-made baking on a Saturday morning? A- Knowing that by purchasing it, you are helping out the Women's Refuge! Yes, that group of filthy rich philanthropists, The New Money Country Club are combining their collective baking powers to entice Wellingtonians with sweet cakes, cupcakes, cookies and muffins.
      • Tagged as:
      • cuba-street
      • events
      • womens

        • Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Wellingtonista Film Season continues
      • Tonight in the special Wellingtonista season of NZ feature films, either roughly related to, shot or set in our lovely capital city (and what a typically brilliant answer to yesterday's weather bomb than this beautiful day?) we have the hilarious feature Mark II, as selected by ourselves. This film is worth viewing for the high-waisted jeans alone....
      • Tagged as:
      • cinema

    • The politics of dining
      • Has anyone noticed that the election campaign has spread to restaurants? Piccolo is sporting a big blue Stephen Franks poster in their window, and I'm not sure what it says about potential National voters if Vivian St is seen as fertile advertising territory. La Kasbah has taken it further: not only was the proprietor wearing a Labour badge, with a donations jar on the counter, but Trevor Mallard was filling up on tagine and couscous tonight!
      • Tagged as:
      • restaurants-and-bars

    • Last Michael Hirschfeld Gallery Exhibition Before Closing...
      • The Michael Hirschfeld Gallery has one more exhibition before it temporarily closes for City Gallery's building development.Nine Years of DesignWorks Time: An Exhibition of of Exhibition Posters promises to be quite a spectacle. The entire gallery will be pasted in posters by gallery designers and sponsers DesignWorks. The show celebrates the numerous talented young artists, curators and designers who have worked with the gallery over the years. DesignWorks have sponsored the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery since 1999. Their designers have consistently turned out sharp and eye-catching promotional posters and marketing material to tight deadlines and usually in their 'own time'. This show is a tribute to these artists. Nine Years of DesignWorks Time will illustrate the diversity and originality of artists such as Gavin Hipkins, Taika Waititi, Sarah Jane Parton, Regan Gentry and Wayne Youle. The Michael Hirschfeld Gallery will reopen in September 2009 in a new custom-designed gallery space on the first floor of the soon to be larger and revamped City Gallery. October 9-19Michael Hirschfeld GalleryCity Galllerywww.citygalllery.org.nz- Kiran 
      • Tagged as:
      • exhibitions

    • Whats happening on Holland?
      • Down here on Holland St, construction is definitely nothing new. Of late we’ve seen the Century City development starting to shape up, as well as the smaller additions of the oh-so-contemporary product spec office and the always-vibrant fuel expresso HQ. I had assumed that the construction site present on the first floor of the ‘zebra hostel’ was just simple renovation or the like; but the additon of an interesting catipillar-like lighting trail has picqued both my curiosity and expectations.
      • Tagged as:
      • architecture

        • Holland Street, Wellington


    • Yeasayer tomorrow night!!!
      • 2006 was a good year for music. Although one new band from last year totally topped my list and that was Yeasayer.  The most unique, interesting, brave and assured new band I have listened to in a long while.  I "growed up" to a lot of late 70's/early 80's type hippydom and listening to Yeasayer reminded me of a childhood spent listening to the tripped-out weirdness of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa through my Gran's bulky 70's Hi-Fi.  Following a recent trend for more vocal based music (Dirty Projectors, Fleet Foxes, Of Montreal, TV on the Radio) Yeasayer channel the above as well as Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno and David Byrn with their atmospheric, experimental, indie, electronic, gospel, folk, pop, rock, hypnotic eccentric-ness, Yeasayer are utterly in a league of their own and completely committed to the steeze they call "Middle Eastern-Psych-Snap-Gospel". Chris Keating, Anand Wilderwere, Ira Wolf Tuton and Luke Fasano are Yeasayer - each one a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and chanter. Founded by half of a barbershop quartet (which you can hear in their layered and experimental harmonies) they mix odd pop music, 70s soft rock, African rhythms and psychedelic soul.  With their howling chants they channel both dystopian science-fiction themes through the lyrics and a deep appreciation for the natural world through employing a wide, international range of sounds.  The band have toured with friends MGMT and Man Man, and Beck which alludes somewhat to their varied shtick and the live show looks amazing, with lead vocalist Chris Keating often ending up underneath synths, on his knees or rolling on the floor, howling.  Ira "wolf" the bassist looks like a male hipster Stevie Nicks with long hair, high waisted jeans and a dirty funk strut.  The band have become legendary in the world of music blogdom, with many critics pronouncing their debut album the best of last year. See them live tomorrow night at San Fran. - Chrisana
      • Automatically tagged as:
      • blogs

    • Squid - the inside story
      • It’s a lovely spring Friday morning in Wellington. What else would we (Pamela, Chris and Judy - our brave and newest squid team member) be doing other than dissecting a couple of nice fresh squid from the local wholesale fish supplier? It’s all in the interest of bringing you a bigger and better exhibition on the colossal squid, as we come to grips with squid anatomy (literally). We quickly discovered that not all squid are the same on the inside (surprise) and that once inside them it can be a messy business. Note to self - try to avoid puncturing the ink sac until the end. We started with an arrowsquid. We checked the arms and the tentacles - all eight arms and two tentacles present and correct. The suckers on the arms had hard little circles, which pop out - who needs to pop bubble wrap? Cutting through the mantle was hard work - you need a sharp pair of scissors or a good scalpel. Pulling back the folds of the mantle reveals the inner organs. Working out what they all are is a challenge but we think we identified the gills, the stomach and caecu,m and what we thought was the hearts. Yep, that’s right, a squid has three hearts. The eyes were exciting to dissect. It was a thrill to extract the lenses and find that they come in two parts - just like the colossal squids, and indeed all squid. The arrowsquid lens is a lot smaller - around 0.5cm across - compared with the huge orange-sized lens of the colossal. It was also really exciting to remove the beakfrom the really dense muscular tissue surrounding it. First we got the lower beak out, then the upper beak and we could see how they fit together. Then we came across the radula - it’s a bit like a tongue - with it’s amazing rows of sharp, raspy teeth. Stomach contents of our squid were examined. We could feel the crunchy bits inside, and these turned out to be fish vertebrae. Last but not least we cleaned away all the messy bits to expose the mantle - and extract the gladius, or pen. This incredible structure just glides out of the mantle and looks for all the world like it’s made of plastic. So I’m hooked on squid anatomy - there will be photos and more on the broad squid we examined next, shortly.       
      • Automatically tagged as:
      • blogs
      • te-papa

    • Design for the sun
      • Following on from the previous post, where we had observed how good Wellington can get on a nice day (not so good today, unfortunately), there were a few photos left over that we just had to use. There seems to be a few simple principles at work here for successful public space design in general, but throughout the waterfront especially.
      • Tagged as:
      • architecture
      • waterfront

    • A very Special Event: The Woolshed Sessions
      • Could this be the next Fly My Pretties? A bunch of well-known and up-and-coming Wellington musicians have banded together for a very special project.  The Woolshed Sessions are both an album and a live show, packed with songs distinguished by lashings of lap-steel guitar and lush vocal harmonies. The name comes from the place where this disparate group of artists recorded their work.  Somewhere in the heart of gorgeous Takaka, Age Pryor, Jess Chambers, Justin Firefly Clarke and others, crafted some fresh music in the improvised recording set-up of a converted woolshed – complete with bare timber floors and corrugated iron.  The shed was supplied by its owner and acclaimed filmmaker, Gaylene Preston.  Miss Preston describes the sessions in her own lyrical style: ‘You can hear the landscape in these songs.  The balmy simple Golden Bay surface flows over dark secret underground caves.  Life is sweet with unfathomable darkness lurking. Strings summer strumming with plenty on our minds.’ A hand numbered limited edition of The Woolshed Sessions CD and booklet featuring documentary photographs by Andy Morley-Hall is available this month.  And to mark this special occasion, the woolshed experience will be live on stage at BATS Theatre from Thursday the 9th to Saturday the 11th of October.  The woolshed sessions will star: Age Pryor - guitar/vocalsAndy Hummel - guitar/vocalsJess Chambers - guitar/vocalsJustin Firefly Clarke – guitar/vocals, banjoAl Fraser - taonga puoro, guitar/vocalsLee Prebble - lap steelPeter Hill - bassBrett Skinner – drums -Darren  
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    • News on new art
      • Thistle Hall currently has il.lus.trate on, art made by Saint Catherine's College students. il.lus.trate; (verb) "to exhibit awesome artworks for you to come and see". The exhibitions of year 12s work is all about street art. The students ideas and inspirations range from the whacky ideas of Banksy, to the characters of the Simpsons.
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      • art
      • cuba-street
      • events
      • kilbirnie

        • Kilbirnie, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand/Aotearoa (OpenStreetMap)


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