A CLASS ACT
Inside Te Auha's new campus
A new creative school, Te Auaha, has opened its doors in Wellington.
Te Auaha – also known as the New Zealand Institute of Creativity – is a joint venture between institutions Whitireia and WelTec.
It can be found on Dixon St, where the former Deka department store once stood.
The six-storey campus in the centre of Wellington can accommodate up to 1000 students. It currently has about 800 students enrolled for the first seats.
Te Auaha director Victoria Spackman said she had not seen any other school in the world combine so many disciplines in the one campus.
These included TV and film production, hair and makeup artistry, digital art, digital media, writing, publishing, dance, circus and acting.
Spackman called it a facility for ‘‘jobs that even haven’t been invented yet’’.
The most successful creative people were the ones with discipline, and who put in the hard work, she said.
But they also needed the ability to connect with the public. ‘‘You’re not going to become a successful creative person unless you’re super-dedicated and passionate about it.’’
The school would teach students how to run a creative career, including entrepeneur and marketing skills, and how to get their work seen or in to galleries, she said.
Compared to an academic path of study, there would be ‘‘very few’’ essays at Te Auaha, she said.
‘‘When I was at university, I wrote essays at the end of the year. These students will perform a dance show, a musical theatre, an exhibition of their digital media or visual arts work.’’
The institute has also announced it will offer New Zealand’s first Bachelor of Creativity, available in six majors: digital media, music, performing arts, toi poutama, visual arts and writing.
Spackman estimated New Zealand’s creative industries employed more than 40,000 people and contributed around $3.8 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Creative problem-solving, innovation, critical thinking and commercial and cultural awareness were skills that would be in high demand in all areas of the economy, she said.
The school has some 800 students enrolled for this year and Spackman said about 60 per cent were returning students, ready to start in the brand new campus.