CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF
WHAU ARTS FESTIVAL
This year marked our 10th anniversary of Whau Arts Festival! We celebrated this milestone in true WTP fashion, activating unexpected places as sites for creativity around Portage Road parks and at our ALL GOODS space, including some awesome collaborations throughout Whau.
With ten years since the first Whau Arts Festival, we want to acknowledge the huge amount of work the late Sam Morrison put into festivals over the years, especially the first one. The hundreds of artists and tens of thousands of audience members who’ve been a part of festivals since wouldn’t have had those experiences without the foundations Sam laid for it, even if we all did a lot of swearing about how many times he asked us to sweep and clean up the old 3 Guys site that first year. Thank you Sam. x
Ngā mihi nui to our participating artists this year and everyone who came along to tautoko and join in on the fun. A special thanks to the Whau Local Board for their ongoing support of the Whau Arts Festival. It’s great to have a board that recognises the value of local art events and the impact they can have to build community connections, making our neighbourhoods better and more interesting places to live.
Photo credit: Sam helping artist HyunJin Yun move an artwork, photo by Jody Yawa McMillan
To celebrate our 10th anniversary since the first Whau Arts Festival, we’re thrilled to bring you the 2024 Whau Arts Festival stacked with an exciting programme of FREE community events, art activations and creative workshops.
This year’s festival will be centered around Portage Road parks from Suburbs Rugby Football Club to Sister Rene Shadbolt and Craigavon Parks, followed by a series of workshops and events sprinkled throughout the Whau.
The Whau Arts Festival is proudly supported by the Whau Local Board and delivered by Whau The People alongside the people of the Whau.
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2024 Programme
21 September
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Come down and support the Artist Car Boot Sale where our local artists are setting up shop with their creative offerings on hand. You can expect everything from art prints, bespoke jewellery, ceramics, comics, custom homeware to crochet plushies and so much more! Treat yourself or make an early start on your Christmas shopping! Artists: JC Studio, Alex Scott, Charmy, Tartttx, Willow Rae Designs, Memoh. Comics, Sanna’s Atelier, Dreads and Honey, TV Competition, Pixie Bell Crafts, Fidget Toys NZ, Her Element, Dee Stone, Made by Tilly
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Suburbs Rugby Football Club is one of the Whau’s oldest community organisations, established in 1916. We’re delighted to be partnering with them for a night of good tunes and friendly hospitality. Featuring Cowboy Dan, Heaphyz and Coco Charles on the night. We’ll also have some visuals from Creature Post, and the clubrooms will be transformed by artist Nia Vavao A.K.A Spider Town Baby. The bar and restaurant will be open; come have some kai and enjoy great local talent.
28 September
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The Suburbs Rugby Football Club has been a strong community focus in West Auckland for over 100 years. The club has been located in various places, from farm paddocks and cow sheds to the Avondale Racecourse, and now Sister Rene Shadbolt Park. Over the years, the club has had various club colours, logos, and jersey designs. HOOPLA will take a peek into their clubrooms, archives, and sports fields to learn more about the club’s history and the people involved; look out for displays at the club and surrounding areas.
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Come and personalise some fashion for your dog before its photo shoot! Created by local designers Cokana Fashion, they’ll assist you in creating a piece of bespoke fashion for your four-legged companion. Cokana Fashion is Ota Valu, who has four decades of experience as a designer, pattern maker, and sewer, and her daughter, Helena Cocker-Valu. Limited supplies, first in, first served!
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The Pooch Portrait Studio offers free portraits for local dogs. Drop by the pop up studio and sit for a portrait. The Pooch Portrait Studio is a community service offered by local artist Melissa Laing.
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Christina Houghton presents Whau (LO) Ting – Lilo Safely Walk. Originally created for the Whau Festival 2016, is a participatory mobile performance along the Waitahurangi stream, a tributary of the Whau river known as the portage – Te Toanga Waka ki Motukaraka. Come and raft-with us as an eco-action for the future. Prepare for a 1-2 hour walk starting at 1 Olympic Park (behind Ecomatters), on the platform by the stream on Wolverton Ave. The walk will then connect with other activities at Sister Rene Shadbolt Park.
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Evelyn is an experienced kaiwhatu (weaver) and will take ākonga (learners) through the process of creating a five-corner kono. All are welcome, no experience needed.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
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Get orange slices, magic water, practice your scrums and kōrero. This will be a participatory performance activity focusing on all the big issues at hand in the park. Created by Mark Harvey. All are welcome to participate in this interactive exchange.
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Six poets, ten minutes each. The line up will be drawn at random on the night. Easy! Featuring Leilani Tamu, Janet Charman, Anne Kennedy, Elizabeth Morton, Stu Bagby and Dr Jack Ross.
Please note this is an R16 event due to some of the content that will be performed on the night.
29 September
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Come and chalk a design on the skate bowl at Shadbolt Park; have a lesson from the pros at Young Guns Skate School; or chill out and enjoy DJs Empress Naima (1-2pm) and Madilyn Povey (2-3pm). Young Guns Skate School will be setting up some obstacles and will have some spot prizes! Drop in any time.
1 October
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Join the team at Te Toi Uku Crown for a morning of creative fun and make a gnome for your home with air dry clay. Join at any time during this drop-in session.
3 October
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Calling all local Whau artists and beyond for mural submissions as part of the Whau Arts Festival. This year we will select an artist to share their work on the HAVEN wall located on Avondale Mainstreet. We are looking for an artist that can enhance our vibrant community and encourage local connections. We are accepting submissions from now until the end of the Whau Festival on 3 October, 2024.
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Art Battle is the planet’s biggest live painting competition across 70+ cities worldwide. 12 artists battle it out over 3 rounds of fast paced creativity. The audience decides. Snag yourself a bargain as all the artwork will be for sale at the silent auction at the end of the night. With top DJ’s, MC, surprise guests plus $500+ prizes, give-aways and great vibes – so much creative NZ talent all under one roof Art Battle is always a night to remember! You must register for entry, and to use your phone to vote & bid.
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A special thanks to Whau Local Board for supporting this event.
