There are lots of changes at the art institutes along Karangahape Road which aim to continue the good health of our creative neighbourhood.
Following a stellar directorship of Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust, the incomparable Courtney Sina Meredith has resigned. Courtney navigated the tricky transition from a trust that was failing its Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa artists into one that Creative New Zealand recognises as within the top ten art institutions of Aotearoa.
Founded by much loved artist Fatu Feu’u, Tautai has championed Pacifica artists for 40 years, and its expanded home on Karangahape Road is a locus for Moana art and inspiration. Tautai supports artist residencies, resources, and the Tautai Gallery for multi-disciplinary artforms. The current exhibition, The Water Tastes Different Here, is by In*ter*is*land Collective, a group of artists based in London and Aotearoa.
Meanwhile, Danielle Akenese Meredith, Mile Fane, and Gloriana Meyers have taken over interim directorship to continue Courtney’s mahi.
Just next door at Artspace Aotearoa, award-winning artist Ruth Buchanan takes up the directorship after more than a decade of working in Berlin. This is the first time that an artist has held the position since founding member Mary-Louise Brown (1986-89), and Ruth’s wide-ranging experience in the art world from teaching to exhibition making place her perfectly for the role.
Artspace has provided an impressive programme of diverse art forms across a broad cross-section of our communities for 35 years. Currently showing is Dieneke Jansen’s on-going video narrative, Backdoor-Doorbell Studio, the multi-media exhibition Finding Pathways to Temahahoi, by Taipei-based artist Anchi Lin/Ciwas Tahos, and the short film, Neighbourhood of Truth, by Quentin Lind and Cushla Donaldson.
Down on the corner of Ponsonby Road, the historic police station that houses Studio One Toi Tu, artist studios, and offices of The Big Idea, will be undergoing refurbishment, scheduled to take nine months. We take this as a sign of Auckland Council’s continued commitment to situating art spaces in accessible central city spots.
EVAN WOODRUFFE, Studio Art Supplies www.studioart.co.nz
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