08 Nov 2013
A new Christchurch art project, involving artists from all over New Zealand, aims to explore new ways of working together for the common good.
The seven-day project in New Brighton will feature daytime and evening workshops and at least a dozen artists, each working with different community groups, across the suburb and Christchurch city.
Transitional Economic Zone of Aotearoa (TEZA) is being produced by national public art producers of Letting Space, Mark Amery and Sophie Jerram. “Since the quakes, Christchurch has been a hotbed of projects that explore different forms of exchange, full of zeal and innovation. We want to recognize this energy and achievement and highlight how vital such experimentation is to the future of our planet, as the economic systems we currently use show signs they are past their use by date.
“We want to explore what a more positive model for an economic zone might look like - how a group of artists from many different places might visit and exchange with communities and tangata whenua for the local good.” TEZA’s New Brighton hub will be a site for exchanging ideas about new systems. “It recognises how artists and the public can all contribute to society employing alternative economic models, and the importance of public and community space to enable this…”
Working actively with the community of New Brighton, the physical hub of the zone will create a welcoming space created by Tim Barlow of Wellington and Te Urutahi Waikerepuru of Taranaki. Many works will extend out from the zone creating new lines through the suburb and city to sites of significance, including a soundwork by Phil Dadson, a light work by Kura Puke and Stuart Foster and a performance work by Mark Harvey, extending on his Productive Bodies work with Letting Space during 2012’s NZ International Festival of the Arts.
Other projects include those of Kim Paton, whose waste-forecasting project in New Brighton will extend on her celebrated Free Store project of 2010, which has led directly to new schemes with the supermarkets in Auckland and Wellington. Extending a project first presented in New Mexico in 2012, Simon Kaan presents Kai Hau Kai, a Ngāi Tahu exchange working with communities to explore the concept of sharing of food, and its importance in creating and maintaining social and economic relationships.
TEZA is being produced in partnership with Renew New Brighton and the Positive Directions Trust. It has funding support from Creative New Zealand, The Chartwell Trust and the Canterbury Community Trust. Other funders and supporters include Loomio, Massey University, WINTEC, University of Canterbury, Ngai Tahu, Ministry of Awesome, The Physics Room and many others.
For more information about the programme and projects please visit www.teza.org.nz or contact:
Gabrielle McKone, Publicist
P: 021373873
E: enquiries@gabriellemckone.com
Mark and Sophie, Curators
P: 029 934 9740
E: sophiejerramandmarkamery@gmail.com
Title: Artists to create new economic zone in Christchurch
Date: 25 November 2013
Info: http://teza.org.nz/
Email: enquiries@gabriellemckone.com
CATEGORIES: Community arts, Events Latest news and blog
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