Whau the People was proud to partner with the Creative Souls Project and Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery on this year long project supported by Creative New Zealand with their dedicated Toi Rangatahi Engagement fund. Together we were able to offer opportunities for our young local arts community to connect, develop and be supported in the arts. Creating pathways for experience working in the arts and exhibiting in ways that are not usually or easily accessible for young people locally.
This partnership allows young artists to be supported and connected within their communities and include workshops, mentoring and presentations at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery and ALL GOODS art space.
FRESH ONE: WHERE YOU FROM
11 July – 30 August 2020
Fresh One Collective has partnered with The Creative Souls Project, Whau the People, Creative New Zealand and Te Uru to bring a contemporary, young and, of course, a FRESH approach on how artist collectives interact with gallery spaces that do not necessarily always represent us.
The exhibition title WYF: Where You From? draws on the way young people abbreviate text, as well as mimic slang — juxtaposed in a more formal gallery space (Te Uru). “Where you from?” is also a common question asked when people meet, often resulting in conflicting responses depending on how individuals interpret where they come from (whether ethnically via migration, ancestral land connections, or simply their suburb). WYF searches for insight into personal experiences of home; how our homes shape us, politicise us and creates us.
WYF features 10 young artists working in photography, sculpture, painting, design, video and installation. The artists hail from around West and South Auckland and bring collective and individual experiences of place. Exhibition curators Paulina Bentley and Hulita Koloi intend visitors to engage with the stories behind the artworks, and voices from next generation of artists in Auckland. WYF promotes the diverse views and backgrounds that co-exist and progress the art world into a more inclusive space for both established and emerging young artists.
Featuring: Ashleigh Taupaki, Atonia Vavao, Cyrille Paul Lim, Eva Fuemana, Hamish Raman, Jacob Hamilton, Jasmine Tuiå, Joseph Hisayasu, Mr Meeseeks, Taunese Puå
EXHIBITION PLANNING IN LOCKDOWN
HOME STAY: FRESHONE COLLECTIVE POP-UP
Fresh One Crew have landed at Te Uru!
HOMESTAY is more than a plinth with a great paint job. It’s giving talented young local artists an opportunity to sell handmade artworks in our gallery shop, followed by an exhibition on the top floor coming later this year. Art, jewellery and designed objects are updated regularly by Fresh One, so check out the shop in the coming weeks to see what’s new.
“ko tahi te ha o te tipuna me te mokopuna.”
One breath between our ancestors and the future generations.
In February 2020 Artist Atarangi Anderson gifted Avondale a new mural while mentoring another young artist. She hopes to help bring a stronger representation of wāhine and whakapapa through this mural by painting wāhine in symbolic lines of kapa haka and lineage. The background is a patch work of colours to make connections back to the knowledge stored within the wharenui. The colours also link to the Marae mattresses which lay within the wharenui and give generations of whanau a place to sleep and rest. This mural goal is to say we are here.
Massive shout to Taunese Puā, Doron Semu, Faith Anderson, Gia Hinemaea and Georgia Spliggens for supporting Atarangi on the wall. Also, the Avondale Business association for permissions and lending us a ladder, Fred for water blasting the wall and our partners on this series of projects.
EXPOSURE
EXPOSURE was a group exhibition of young local artists and was curated/directed and installed by The Fresh One.
Fresh One is bringing together young artists in our local community. They want to give back to their communities through various mediums of art. Founded by the Creative Souls Project in 2019.
The word “exposure” often becomes a frustrating and sour patch in an artist’s journey. Together with Fresh One, EXPOSURE is an exhibition for other young and emerging artists looking to redefine what it means to be paid in “exposure”. We want to come together to celebrate new artists across all mediums and allow artists to create their own “exposure” that lets them control how they get paid.
MEETINGS + WORKSHOPS + MENTORING
Throughout this project its been important that the young group of artists get to participate from concept through to production and the opportunity to have paid roles in all of that.
Our Creative Caucus meetings give us the chance to brainstorm together and place the lead and ownership of what to do in the hands of the young people we are working with.
HOMY
Kicking off the year long project it was decided that we needed some wheels to get us to and from our homebase in Avondale to Te Uru in Titirangi. whau to west/west to whau.
We were lucky to be able to purchase our van ‘Homy’, from Kelston Girls’ College and with some paint and vinyl the design concepts moved from paper to metal!
