It’s party time in Auckland
The Auckland Art Fair offers Kiwis the chance to celebrate artists’ creativity as well as party like we couldn’t last year, writes Lorna Thornber.
International travel restrictions needn’t stop you experiencing some of the best contemporary art south of the equator. Showcasing works by more than
150 artists from some of the mostrespected galleries in New Zealand and Australia, as well as pieces from Rarotonga, and Beijing in China, the Auckland Art Fair is a whirlwind tour of the contemporary Australasian art scene – with a Cook Islands and Chinese twist.
Aotearoa’s answer to Frieze London, Art Basel in Switzerland, and New York’s The Armory Show, the fair is a firm favourite with Kiwi art aficionados. It went virtual last year thanks to the lockdown, but still managed to generate art sales of $1.6 million.
This year, visitors can look forward to the added extras that come with attending the fair in person: parties, pop-up bars and cafes, artist talks, hosted debates, a bookshop, workshops, and a space to hang out with artists and curators and to play board games.
Whether you’re in the market for a new piece to brighten your walls, are looking to start a collection, or just want to look at some pretty pictures and sculptures, it’s well worth heading to The Cloud on Queen’s Wharf between February 24 and 28 to check it out.
If you’re travelling to Auckland for the event, it makes sense to visit some of the City of Sails’ other artistic precincts while you’re at it, as well as some of its new hotels and restaurants.
Coinciding with the end of the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series, it’s also an ideal opportunity to get in on the America’s Cup action.
Here are just a few of the highlights.
The parties
The primary purpose for visiting an art fair may be to see – or buy – art, but they are also good places to party. If you’re keen to be among the first to see the works on display, grab a ticket to Opening Night to rub shoulders with the who’s who of the New Zealand art world over a glass or few of Champagne.
Tickets to the soiree also entitle you to head back to the fair over the next few days to attend talks and see new works.
If seeing the works with your mates to the tune of live DJ sets is more your jam, head to the Art Party on Friday, February 26 from 5pm-9pm. There will be beer, wine, cocktails and food from the cafe and pop-up restaurants to sustain you as you work the room.
Len Lye’s Big Blade
The late Kiwi art legend’s four-metre-high kinetic and sonic sculpture, Big Blade ,is set to make its Auckland debut at the fair.
Conceived in 1950s New York, the sculpture is considered one of Lye’s seminal works, and is a fan favourite at its home base, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth. It moves, it grooves and it glows.
Check it out at the entrance to the fair.
Sculpture space
The fair is set to host an outdoor sculpture space for the first time, with contributing artists including Chauncey Flay, Yolunda Hickman, Gill Gatfield, Gregor Kregar, Terry Stringer and Fatu Feu’u.
Grab a seat in the sun and take them all in as you sip a cocktail from the Scapegrace gin and vodka cocktail bar and watch the boats on the Waitemata¯ Harbour go by.
Or grab an icecream from Duck Island, known for unusual flavour combinations such as black sticky rice and toasted marshmallow.
Projects 2021
Young artists often struggle to have their work shown at art fairs – an issue the curated non-profit Projects 2021 exhibition aims to redress.
Backed by Creative New Zealand, it features works by rising Kiwi artists: Casey Carsel, Tanya Martusheff, Lucy Meyle, Elisabeth Pointon, Becky Richards, and Ashleigh Taupaki.
The talks
As 2020 so unkindly reminded us, it’s best not to put off the things that really matter as we never know what’s around the corner. That makes the theme of this year’s talks programme – If not now, when? – especially fitting.
Three panels made up of bigwigs from the local art scene will address topics such as New Zealand’s place in the international art arena; the special demands placed on indigenous works; how to better showcase local art; what collectors are looking for; and different ways for artists to market their work.
Artists will also discuss their work in daily sessions.
The Under $5000 space
You don’t have to be rich to collect quality art, and this initiative makes it easier to get started.
Aimed at budding collectors, the Under $5000 space features one-ofa-kind pieces made this year or last by artists such as Yolunda Hickman, Tira Walsh and Mark Wooller.
Wherever you wander at the fair, talk to dealers and other experts. Their aim is to inspire enthusiasm about the artists they represent, not just sell their work.
Most are genuinely excited by the pieces they showcase, and will be delighted to discuss them, whether or not you plan to bring out your wallet.
Exploring wider Auckland
Some of Auckland’s best art can be found beyond the central city, so if you’re in town for the fair, leave time to check them out. You’ll need somewhere to rest your head and fuel your adventures, so you may as well sample some of the city’s best hotels and restaurants while you’re at it.
Here are a few ideas.
Where to stay QT Auckland
This new boutique hotel in the Viaduct is already famous for its flagship restaurant, Esther, helmed by celebrity chef Sean Connolly, and harbour-view rooftop bar.
Rooms have a contemporary cool vibe, combining natural hues and clean lines with quirky pieces such as asymmetrical mirrors and bold splashes of colour.
The menu at Esther is inspired by Connolly’s Mediterranean travels. He’s described it as his ‘‘travel diary in food form’’. Ride the lift to Rooftop at QT for Mediterranean-style snacks washed down with cocktails and fine wine.
Time it for sunset for the best views
Hotel Britomart
With timber walls and minimalist furnishings made from natural materials, New Zealand’s first 5 Green Star hotel has a retreat vibe despite its busy location.
Evidence of its sustainability credentials is everywhere, from the compostable slippers and duvets made of microfibre derived from recycled plastic bottles, to the works by Kiwi artists on the walls.
Where to eat Kingi
Opened alongside The Hotel Britomart, Kingi (short for kingfish) specialises in sustainable, line-caught fish and seafood.
Situated down a cobbled laneway in the refurbished Masonic Building, it has a secret feel. Although with Tom Hishon and Josh Helm of Orphans Kitchen fame at the helm, the secret is well and truly out.
Hishon has described the restaurant as a ‘‘neighbourhood home away from home’’, the kind of place where you can sit down for a glass of wine and olives one night, and a longer meal on another occasion.
The menu changes daily, but could include the likes of buttermilk blue cod wings or whole-belly flounder.
Ahi
Ben Bayly’s worked at some of the best restaurants in Auckland, London and France, so it’s little wonder the opening of his restaurant was highly anticipated.
In the Commercial Bay precinct, Ahi – which means ‘‘fire’’ in Ma¯ ori – offers fancy takes on Kiwi kai moana classics.
Think ha¯ ngi pa¯ ua with kahawai, sour cream and kawakawa to start, and mains such as crayfish soup with ku¯ mara and saffron ravioli.
What to do
See a different side of Auckland on a day trip to one of its other art areas, Matakana or Waiheke Island.
Matakana
New Zealand’s answer to the Hamptons, Matakana and its surrounds is home to a famous farmers’ market, some of the best beaches in the region, and Sculptureum, which co-founder Anthony Grant has dubbed ‘‘Disneyland for art’’.
Developed over more than a decade by Grant and his wife Sandra, the 10-hectare property boasts three sculpture gardens, six indoor galleries, a vineyard, and renowned restaurant and bar, Rothko.
With some 400 works on display, from artistic superstars including Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse and Chagall to offbeat sculptures likely to amuse and bemuse.
Waiheke
The so-called island of wine is also an island of art. Catch the ferry from the city and in half an hour you’ll find yourself on an island paradise replete with vineyards, olive groves, sandy beaches, and galleries.
Waiheke Community Art Gallery and the Alison Park Sculptures trail are among the must visits in Oneroa, and it’s well worth booking ahead to visit Connelly’s Bay Sculpture Park.
Expect works by some of New Zealand’s most celebrated artists.