Unique Whangārei festival celebrates consent, respect and communication
'Consent is a great thing, it's fun. It means that everybody is respected and we can support each other to do only the things that you want to do.'
Last Rape Awareness Week, He Hapori Whakaae Community of Consent was launched in Whangārei, to help make the city a place where consent is included in everyday conversations.
This year's festival launched on Monday with a collaboration between Whangārei Rape Crisis, Wairau Māori Art Gallery and Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri, including building on a community artwork where people add what consent means to them into a woven piece.
Upcoming events include Consent Conversations, such as a parents talk at Whangārei Central Library on Wednesday; a gentle, supportive yoga session on Thursday; and awareness-raising and fundraising in Cameron St Mall on Friday and Saturday.
Another highlight is the Consenting Adults dance party at One One Six on Friday night, featuring DJs Kevvy Small, Poppa Soul and JXO. The $25 tickets will help raise money for Whangārei Rape Crisis.
Jones said the dance party is all about creating a space where people can expect their personal space will be respected.
About 20 people have signed up to the seven-day Consent Awareness Challenge, which involves noting everyday situations where consent is sought and respected, and those times when it is overlooked.
Jones said an example of consent being respected is when a person asks another if they would feel comfortable receiving a hug. An everyday example of it being overlooked is when a colleague interrupts a work conversation to give advice, even though the advice is not sought.
The activities finish on Sunday with a chance to share meaningful music, poetry and food, and reflect on the week.
Jones said the week is all about committing to make Whangārei a true community of consent - helping to create a thriving, resilient and safe community for all.
The activities were supported by the Whangārei District Council's Community Fund and started with weaving during ArtBeat.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Hello to everybody: Aotearoa's friendliest artist Sallie Culy
If cities can be lonely places no one told artist Sallie Culy. A familiar face on the streets of inner city Pōneke Wellington, Sallie counts many people she has met a friend. Its an approach to life summed up in the title of a book of her drawings recently published: Hello to Everybody . Sallie has Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes developmental and learning disabilities. But she has turned impediments into advantages. Making it her business to make her city a friendlier place, she has also become celebrated for her art. Felt pen drawings of friends, family and celebrities, ranging from Elton John to Beyoncé, Culy exhibited in December with up and coming dealer gallery Envy, and in 2022 her drawings were selected to be blown up big and lit for three months as a Courtney Place Lightbox public art project. As an artist Sallie has a naive graphic style more familiar from childhood, but that belies how strong her bold wiry use of line and colour are. It's a style that arguably also makes her work appealing to everybody. Smiles welcome us everywhere, reminding us of the joy in people around us. Hailing from a family of skateboarders and artists, skateboarding is also a common theme - Sallie has even been called a local celebrity at Waitangi Skate Park by Wellington City Council. Hello to Everybody has been published by Bad News books and is widely available. To see examples of Sallie's work and the book go here .
RNZ News
01-06-2025
- RNZ News
Regional Wrap: the arts scene in Takapuna
Every week in RNZ Culture 101 's Regional Wrap we find out about the arts scene in a place beyond our city centres. This week it's a suburb that developed its own sense of identity before travel was made easier by a harbour bridge. It's Takapuna on the North Shore of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Known for its beach and beachside culture, it also boasts a distinctive volcanic lake Lake Taupo. It was here in the late 1960s the North Shore Theatre and Arts Trust renovated an old brick pumping station to become the busy Pumphouse Theatre. It was joined by the larger Bruce Mason Theatre near the beach in 2015. Just up the road from the Pumphouse, the Lake House Arts Centre is celebrating its 25th anniversary in another historic house. It's billed as community of hundreds of artists and members participating in exhibitions and events, including classes and holiday programmes accessed by thousands. It was originally an Edwardian boarding house situated between the lake and beach, before being shifted and restored to Fred Thomas Drive on Barry's Point, We welcome to Culture 101 Lake House Arts Centre operations manager Grae Burton.
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Freddie Mercury's ‘treasured' daughter speaks out after decades
'We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. 'He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. 'That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. 'He cherished me like a treasured possession. 'After more than three decades of lies, speculation and distortion, it is time to let Freddie speak. 'Those who have been aware of my existence kept his greatest secret out of loyalty to Freddie. That I choose to reveal myself in my own midlife is my decision and mine alone.' Freddie's daughter is now 48 and lives in Europe where she works as a medical professional. Jones told the Daily Mail that when she was first contacted by 'B': 'My instinct was to doubt everything, but I am absolutely sure she is not a fantasist.' She went on: 'His only child was conceived accidentally with the wife of one of his closest friends, while his friend was away on an extended business trip. For the Roman Catholic mother, abortion was out of the question.' It was agreed that 'B' would be raised by her mother and her mother's husband, with Mercury having his own room at their house so that he could remain in contact with his daughter.
