Auckland has the muscle
Auckland is so big, it dominates every other New Zealand centre in so many ways, certainly in sheer numbers of people involved in the arts.
That could explain that while the people running Wellington are well aware of developments in the Auckland creative scene, up north they don’t seem too fussed about what’s happening with the arts in the capital.
Dr Peter Shand – head of school at Auckland University’s Elam School of Fine Arts, and a trustee of the Arts Regional Trust in Auckland – talks like someone who knows there is no contest.
He is very reluctant to suggest Auckland might be better than anywhere else. He celebrates Auckland’s strengths, while also worrying about the challenges. Like so many other things to do with Auckland, those challenges have a lot to do with the city’s attractiveness as a place to live.
‘‘The thing that will separate Auckland out from the rest of the country always is that it’s really the globally-facing city,’’ Shand said. ‘‘It’s a major point of contact with the rest of the world. It’s ethnically super diverse – that’s how it’s legitimately described.
‘‘This is something I think is super exciting but also a challenge I’m not sure we’re meeting, particularly in terms of vision of that ethnic diversity in the cultural arena.’’
An area where much interesting work was going on was arts support. The Arts Regional Trust (ART) has a Venture programme – described as a unique, yearlong acceleration programme for entrepreneurial people working in Auckland’s creative sector.
Among those who have taken part in the Venture programme is choreographer and dance film-maker Shona McCullagh, cofounder of Auckland-based The New Zealand Dance Company.
McCullagh had been very important in ensuring there was a professional dance company based in Auckland, Shand says. When it came to theatre, Auckland was lucky to have the new ASB Waterfront Theatre. Then there was Q Theatre with its flexi-form space. ‘‘Silo and Basement Theatres, they’re potentially more young in orientation and potentially more experimental in the work they do,’’ he says. ‘‘This is all terrific and part and parcel of theatre scene in Auckland.’’ Other companies were not attached to a particular building.
Asked about the visual arts, Shand tries hard not to sound too ascendant. ‘‘It may well be for a host of reasons, maybe there’s a higher percentage of high-achieving visual artists in the Auckland region,’’ he says. ‘‘But I’m not sure that’s necessarily something that is proportionally so distinct from elsewhere.’’
What hope is there for the rest of the country? Well, like leaders in so many other sectors, Shand worries about how artists who aren’t commercially successful can maintain their practice and have a life too.
It’s a major point of contact with the rest of the world. It’s ethnically super diverse – that’s how it’s legitimately described. Dr Peter Shand – head of school at Auckland University’s Elam School of Fine Arts