Jen Cloher comes into the studio and graces our ears with two beautiful waita from their new album I Am The River, The River Is Me - Ko au te awa, Ko te awa ko au.
Kia Ora, and welcome to the inaugural episode of Various Artists! Former news teamers and show cover-ers, Frances and Liam, are super excited to bring you a new platform to be in the know about arts in Tāmaki Makaurau. E whai ake nei:
We’re taking a quick trip down to Tauranga to chat about Work Out - a multi artist project taking place in the local gallery. Liam spoke to curator Serena Bentley about the overall project, as well as artists Paul Darragh and Turumeke Harrington about their individual exhibitions.
Then we celebrate the life of Aotearoa photographer Ans Westra, who passed away at the end of February. Frances talked with Athol McCredie, Curator Photography at Te Papa and David Alsop, director of Suite gallery about Ans’ life and works.
We also have your Tāmaki arts guide from the tenth to the seventeenth of March! Whakarongo mai nei!
Last Friday, Tauranga Art Gallery saw the proper opening of Work Out - a multi artist project celebrating colour and how artists have turned their practise into sustainable careers. The gallery contains pieces by Simon Ward, Dream Girls Art Collective, Yvonne Todd, Turumeke Harrington, and Paul Darragh. I’ve had a chat with the latter two artists about their pieces - Turumeke’s “Massive Props”, and Paul's “Shape Up Ship Out”. We’ll be learning about what went into them and their creative practice as a whole, but first we’ll be hearing from Serena Bently - the curator and exhibition manager of Tauranga Art Gallery. We had a yarn about the inspiration behind the project, the different artists involved, and more! Whakarongo mai nei!
This week on Various Artists Frances and Liam take the time to remember the life and works of Ans Westra.
Self-taught, Ans spent long periods of time travelling around the country as a full-time freelance documentary photographer committed to observing and candidly documenting New Zealand life and culture. Ans was a pioneer of documentary photography, and one of the first women to work in this area in Aotearoa New Zealand.
In 1998 she was awarded the Companion of the Order of New Zealand Merit for services to photography. In 2007 she was made an Arts Foundation Icon, an honour bestowed to a living circle of 20 New Zealand artists for their extraordinary lifetime achievements. In 2015 she received an honorary doctorate from Massey University in recognition of her long-standing contribution to New Zealand’s visual culture.
To hear about her life and works Frances talked with Athol McCredie, Curator Photography at Te Papa and also with David Alsop, owner of Suite Gallery and lifelong agent and friend of Ans.
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