After the social disruption and restrictions of the year, Artweek Auckland was a joyous celebration that brought the community back out onto the streets and into the venues.
Art is not just an object – it is a catalyst for social interaction, and this was clearly demonstrated over the nine days of Artweek last month. Free events beckoned people into public and private spaces across the city, from the North Shore to South Auckland and points West and East. We were desperate to begin socialising again, and our new-found anxieties were alleviated through the effect of art on us – the colour, the stories, wonderment and contemplation. This tenth Artweek had an incredible attendance and sense of fun, and was just what the city needed. One very special event in our neighbourhood was the free Open Late Tour, proudly sponsored by I Love Ponsonby and the K’Road Business Association, with refreshments from Tiger Beer and Crafters Union.
On the Thursday evening, five walking tours and a cycle tour explored the arts precinct concentrated in the K’Road/Ponsonby/Grey Lynn area. To build on the previous year’s popularity, organiser Emil McAvoy brought in new tour guide Ashleigh Taupaki, who joined the existing talent of Zoe Black, Julia Craig, Evan Woodruffe and himself, and made a tour accessible to those with mobility issues for the first time.
The Open Late Tour took in the vast visual arts ecology of our neighbourhood: of course the contemporary art galleries that cluster in K’Road, Putiki/Monmouth Streets, and now spread down Ponsonby Road, but also the wealth of public and artist-run galleries like Objectspace, Tautai, Artspace, RM, Audio Foundation, the art schools and community art centres Browne School of Art, Toi Ora, Studio One Toi Tu, the artist studios at 1B & 3 Ponsonby Road, and endemicworld, which combines studios, gallery, and artist services under one roof.
For a cold and rainy evening, attendance was a hearty 87% of prior bookings, and a affirmation that we need art in our lives. Hear hear for artists! When our days are grey and bleak, they open their spaces up to show us ways to heal. (Evan Woodruffe/Studio Art Suppli)
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