State of the Arts DeBoos named
Weird party
A Weird Night Out is returning to Auckland on the back of last year’s sellout re-opening of the St James Theatre. The Weird Together collective and special guests will take over the Mahatma Gandhi Centre and transform the space into a party experience on July 8. ‘‘Over the last few years we’ve been dedicated to bringing back the spirit of mid 90s rave culture by taking over some of Auckland’s most unique spaces and filling them with a little bit of magic. Off the back of our St James event we knew we had to come with something special this year’’, Weird Together’s Nick Dwyer says. ‘‘We’ve been eyeing up the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for a while now and so it’s with the greatest of delight we have assembled some of our favourite artists to join us in what will be another one of those weird nights out to remember.’’
Arrested Development
Hip-hop legends Arrested Development have announced a one-off Auckland date at Auckland’s Powerstation on August 28. They’ve had 20 years on the circuit but may be best known for the track Revolution, written for Spike Lee’s biopic of Malcolm X. They’ve also notably donated album profits in the past to Nelson Mandela and the ANC and the US National Coalition for the Homeless. The Portage Ceramic Awards will this year be judged by Janet DeBoos, a renowned Australian ceramic artist, academic and writer. ‘‘I don’t hold to a particular aesthetic in judging works,’’ DeBoos says. ‘‘I like functional pottery because of its interaction with people, so it’s about relationships, and, in fact, that relationship that exists between the maker and the user is also something I enjoy seeing.’’ The selection of finalist works for the 2016 Portage Ceramic Awards is a two-stage process. About 50 works will be selected by the judge from submitted photographs. Shortlisted artists will be invited to send their works to Te Uru Gallery for final selection, where the judge will view and choose the exhibiting works and award winners. Entries close on August 1 and the finalists will be announced on October 26.
Artworks commissioned
Two significant new public artworks will be unveiled when Auckland’s new ASB Waterfront Theatre opens in Wynyard Quarter in September. The Edmiston Trust has commissioned American artist Leo Villareal to create a three-storey LED light installation for the interior of the ASB Waterfront Theatre, facing onto Halsey Street. He has pioneered the use of lightemitting LEDs and computer-driven imagery to create significant light sculptures and site-specific architectural works. Villareal is regarded as one of the most prominent light sculptors of his generation. Waterfront Theatre Limited has commissioned New Zealand sculptor Professor Robert Jahnke to create a pou for the theatre’s Logan Campbell Yard.