HIGH STREET TO THE HILLS
EVENTS WORTH NOTING AROUND THE COUNTRY
What to see in the country’s theatres and galleries
WHERIKO — BRILLIANT!
To 16 February 2020, Christchurch Art Gallery
Te Puna o Waiwhetū
The Christchurch gallery dazzles as 20 light-based installations created by local and international artists explore shadow, brightness and the power of light to transform and enhance. Combining digital artworks with sculptures, photographs and videos, Wheriko – Brilliant! features artist Reuben Paterson’s kaleidoscopic digital landscape inspired by Māori mythology, a robotic light project by artist Daniel von Sturmer and an immersive light sculpture celebrating the harmonious co-existence of Islamic and Western cultures by Pakistani-born United States-based artist Anila Quayyum Agha. christchurchartgallery.org.nz
Breaking the Ice: The First Year in Antarctica
To 13 October, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch
A collection of 70 significant artefacts left in Antarctica’s two earliest huts by AngloNorwegian polar pioneer Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink’s Southern Cross expedition (1898) and Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova mission (1910) provide an extraordinary glimpse into the beginnings of Antarctic exploration. The objects include a 100-year-old Huntley & Palmers fruitcake in a tin, a pair of Edwardian long johns, leather boots lined with sennegras (a polar plant), a watercolour painting, a primus and weatherrecording charts. The artefacts have been brought to Christchurch for conservation by the Antarctic Heritage Trust and will be returned to the huts. canterburymuseum.com
Carried Away: Bags Unpacked
To 1 December, Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira The concept of baggage is under the spotlight in a significant show probing the design, materials, techniques and personal stories associated with more than 150 different bags. From handbags, plastic bags and backpacks to kete, miser’s purses and natural-fibre bilums (traditional string bags), Carried Away: Bags Unpacked examines the diversity of purpose, cultural complexities, creativity, symbolism and societal power of everyday bags. The exhibition includes video footage of the practices employed to construct the bags and situational scenes detailing their existence beyond the museum. aucklandmuseum.com
Maiangi Waitai Ātea- a- Rangi — Interstellar
To 20 October, The Dowse Art Museum The oral history traditions of the star cluster Matariki and the themes celebrated in conjunction with the Māori New Year are re-imagined with magical symbols, cross-cultural doll characters and comic art in a site-specific installation by artist and clothing designer Maiangi Waitai, of Ngā Wairiki, Ngōti Apa, Tuwhāretoa, Rangitāne and German descent. As part of the artist’s exploration of the universe, Waitai has created a superhero for each of Matariki’s seven whetū (stars) with individualized packaging. Ātea-a-Rangii
— Interstellar highlights the key concepts implicit in Matariki festivities — new life, empowerment, nurturing, generosity, gratitude and the protection of culture and the environment. dowse.org.nz