Latest news with #AucklandPride
Scoop
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Critically Acclaimed One Man Show Offers Intimate, Personal Look At Gender Transition
Globally political leaders are increasingly using the trans community as a scapegoat and treating us like a hot button issue. Families are divided, friendships strained, and communities polarised. In the midst of heated debates and social media arguments, the tenderness of our individual human stories is being lost. Feature-length documentary huMan Lessons has been chronicling Adam Rohe's transition for nearly a decade. Now, Adam (he/they) takes control of the narrative in Man Lessons: The Live Show, combining intimate footage with live storytelling for a wild, earnest, behind-the-scenes look at identity, friendship, and the ways they transform us all. Man Lessons has previously played three seasons, including a sold-out run during Auckland Pride's 2023 season at Basement Theatre. This Matariki, the show has been completely re-crafted into something portable enough to be performed anywhere meaningful conversation is needed. Matariki marks the darkest time of the year – a moment to look to the rising Matariki constellation and use it to navigate through the night. "We are living through a time of monumental social change," says Adam. "Let's make a space to listen to ourselves, to hear each other's stories, and learn to find our way forward by following our shared humanity." This coming-of-age story explores what it means to change and to find your place in the world. Offering no easy answers, it instead invites audiences into the messy, beautiful reality of human transformation. It's for anyone who has ever struggled with change or wondered how to be more truthful about who they are, what they need, and where they want to go. "As honest and sincere a life story as I've ever seen staged" - Rat World Magazine "A deeply moving experience that caught me off guard in its moments of existential dread and uplift." - Nathan Joe, Auckland Pride Creative Director About Basement Theatre Described by Metro Magazine as 'the beating heart of Auckland Theatre' and 'a clear industry leader', Basement Theatre is a home to professional and budding theatre artists, comedians, dancers and musicians alike. Renowned for its ability to push the boundaries of artistic expression, Basement Theatre is Auckland's culture-defining powerhouse. Basement Theatre is a place where urgent and adventurous live performance made by independent artists is incubated and supported, and aims to inspire and challenge New Zealand audiences and arts organisations, and reflect our diverse identities and experiences. Every year, over 200 artists grace our stages, and 15 artists take part in our development programmes. In 2022, 91% of our content was new Aotearoa work and 56% were made by vital voice communities (Tangata Whenua, People of Colour, LGBTQIA+, immigrant communities and disabled people). Basement Theatre is a Charitable Trust, and puts all profits back into the community through its extensive artist development programmes, and risk-free box office model. The organisation is committed to being a part of what makes the performing arts industry, and artists, in Auckland truly sustainable.
The Spinoff
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
From murals to yarn bombs: Meet three Aucklanders making art accessible to all
There's a unique network of people and organisations behind the Auckland art scene. Naomii Seah spoke to three of them to understand their mahi. Walking through the streets of Tāmaki Makaurau, you're never short of interesting art to look at. The city is home to macro pieces like The Women's Suffrage mural at Te Hā o Hine place, and the iconic Boy Walking in Potters Park; as well as smaller installations like Thief and Twist, the bronze statues on Karangahape Road. Then there's the more transient works of our city, like the Yarn for Pride project in February this year, which saw the bike parking on Karangahape Road adorned with colourful scarves in honour of Auckland Pride. Artworks like these enrich our experience of the city and bring communities together, as well as being quite simply delightful. Even so, it's getting harder for artists to create and produce work. Inflation, a cost-of-living crisis, and recent funding cuts have made art, and art-making, less accessible. Despite this grim outlook, some organisations, like the 21 local boards of Auckland Council, remain key supporters of arts and culture here. They help fund and manage many dedicated arts spaces and organisations across the city. The Spinoff spoke with three of these organisations about how they're keeping our arts scene alive and vibrant. Siobhan Connelly, Studio One Toi Tū Studio One Toi Tū cuts an imposing figure on the corner of Ponsonby and Karangahape Road. Once a police station, it's now an arts facility helmed by the Waitematā local board. The building's strong, square silhouette and late Victorian brick facade can be intimidating at first. But this initial impression is tempered by the artwork proudly displayed in the windows. Acrylic 'paint' drips from the upper windows, oozing art onto the street and the community beyond. Inside you'll find art exhibitions and workshops, maker spaces and studios. Studio One Toi Tū aims to keep their offerings free or low cost to ensure everyone in the community can access arts and art spaces. Workshops here offer a chance to explore a wide range of mediums – from ceramics to print-making, oil-painting and more. On-site studios and spaces can also be hired for events and pop-up exhibitions. This ensures the space remains responsive and reactive to current events. Supporting the local arts scene is the core of the Studio One Toi Tū kaupapa, says manager Siobhan Connelly. The team are all arts practitioners themselves, and they aim to offer wrap around support for new and emerging artists. Downstairs, by the front door, four gallery spaces provide an opportunity for new and emerging artists to display their work. The exhibits are programmed a year in advance, with 30 to 40 slots available each year. 'We often talk of the story of someone coming through Studio One Toi Tū,' says Connelly. 'There are people who have come to an exhibition, found out about the space, taken one of our courses, upskilled, then started doing markets, then applied for an exhibition. There's a real opportunity to nourish people starting on their arts journey. And that really fills our cup.' 'We talk about people coming here and doing their 'firsts' – teaching their first class, holding their first exhibition, having their first studio. These are all important steps to being a member of the creative sector.' Jermaine Reihana, Kākano Youth Arts Kākano Youth Arts Collective is a programme for vulnerable rangatahi and is run out of Corban Estate Arts Centre – a West Auckland arts precinct based on the historic grounds of the former Corban Estate Winery. Three days a week, Kākano welcomes 18 young people between the ages of 12 and 21 to the ground-floor room of the estate. It's covered in colourful graffiti and paint splatters and is full of art supplies. Here, the participants are given the opportunity to develop an arts practice with experienced arts tutors. Jermaine Reihana is one of these tutors. He's been with the programme since 2015, following a stint as the resident artist at the estate. 'Kākano means 'the seed'. All we do as tutors and as a whānau is to pour as much tautoko support onto that seed and help it to grow. That's how each of our rangatahi develops their own art practice.' The programme is not run like a classroom, Reihana stresses. That doesn't work for these rangatahi, who have mostly disengaged with mainstream education. Instead, each young person is given individual support, which extends not just through developing an arts practice, but to their wider lives. Kākano employs an in-house youth support coordinator, Sarah Candler, who helps young people navigate government systems and more. 'Our rangatahi rely on us a lot because they trust us. They're able to approach us with what happens in their lives and we can navigate that alongside them.' Reihana says the programme not only builds skills and self-esteem but gives young people work experience. The collective sells works at exhibitions every year and has made work for clients including Google, KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, local boards and council. When artworks produced by the collective are sold, 80 percent of the proceeds go back into the programme. Kākano Youth Arts Collective has a variety of sponsors, including Henderson-Massey Local Board, who were instrumental in setting up the programme in 2013, when it was piloted by director Mandy Patmore. 'We wouldn't be able to do what we do without the backing of Henderson-Massey local board,' says Reihana. 'They've helped tautoko and support a lot of our external projects. If you see public artwork in the area, nine times out of 10 we've had something to do with it.' Though the alumni at Kākano Youth Arts Collective never truly leave, Reihana says one of the programme's biggest achievements is helping young people transition to further training or employment. The collective has a strong partnership with the Unitech School of Art and Design, and many young people go on to pursue Foundation, Certificate or Bachelor level qualifications there. Other Kākano alumni have gone on to Ama Training Group's animation programme and have become animators. Others still have found their way into the film industry post Kākano. 'We're not a course where young people come to us for six months and then get handed off. We're a whānau here, no one leaves here without a plan.' Shona Dey, Albert-Eden Arts Broker Shona Dey is a familiar face at Frasers Cafe, located at the iconic Mt Eden intersection. Dey is the arts broker for Albert-Eden Neighbourhood Arts. Funded by the Albert-Eden Local Board, this organisation supports and promotes community-led arts and cultural activities across the two neighbourhoods. They collaborate with local artists, event organisers and creative organisations to bring ideas to life with funding, advice, marketing help and more. Dey describes her role as an arts broker succinctly: 'I'm a connector between community, arts practitioners, the local board and arts staff at Auckland Council. With local board funding, I help curate and deliver a programme of arts within the community informed by local happenings and the local environment.' It's a role that sees Dey out and about in the community most days, grabbing coffees and teas with people. Albert-Eden Neighbourhood Arts aims to keep barriers to entry low, and Dey often acts as a mentor and guide to newer arts practitioners who apply. Her typical day might include liaising with practitioners, helping with post-project reports, connecting artists to venues or other resources, or attending and facilitating community events. Dey says that her role and the model of arts delivery in Albert-Eden is unique. There's no dedicated space or location beyond the Albert-Eden area itself. But the ephemeral nature of the model has its own benefits. 'It's a very efficient model. It's cost effective, and it's agile,' says Dey. 'We're able to respond to community needs very quickly. We're able to deliver projects in small, big and micro ways to where they're needed most.' Some projects Dey has helped to facilitate include a self-published children's book written by a local postman, Mike Paterson, about the dogs he encounters on his post run. The launch was hosted at the local Time Out bookstore, and the initial print run sold out. Another is a photographic project by Sara Tautuku Orme, photographing local mana whenua, mātāwaka, kaumātua and kuia in Albert-Eden. Other projects have included theatrical, experiential arts projects aimed at activating the town centres, and increasing community cohesion and wellbeing. Arts projects can be microscale or larger in scope, with Dey trying to strike a balance. She says that the value of the arts is sometimes intangible, but the flow on effects of creating and seeing art are valuable. 'I think art is one of the pillars of mental health. It helps people feel safe in their community and like they belong. It's such an important way people communicate to others. The arts is also an important economic developer and enabler for this area, with impacts well beyond the initial programme. 'That's what I love about facilitating art in this role – it's never really over.'
