Melissa kindly sent through some more photos of her roving, mischievous marae a while ago, and I've only just remembered to put them up! Sorry Melissa!
For those of you who are intrigued by this piece, or wanted to learn more about Melissa's motivation in creating it, click here to have a read of her thoughtful post-performance reflection.
Being mentioned alongside Auckland Art Gallery and MOTAT in this weekend's Herald was a great early Christmas present!
Assessing our own institutions and art events by this wish list shows what a great place Auckland is for mixing children, adults and art. Last month's Art in the Dark at Western Park was a delight, with its dancing bicycles, flying angels, wet rainbows, miniature cities and "slides on slides" (projections on playground equipment).
And it was free.
Click here to read Janet McAllister's piece about artistic events for kids.
More video from Art in the Dark has emerged, this time thanks to Julia Dub. We're especially stoked to see the footage of our incredible billboard!!
Art in The Dark from Studio Alexander on Vimeo.
Another beautiful video from Art in the Dark. We love that so many people came to the event ready to make movies and were inspired enough after the event to take the time to edit and upload their footage. Thanks so much to Natasha at Studio Alexander for this very lovely one.
These beautiful shots were sent in by photography student, Mandy Chan. The pictures are of Brydee Rood's piece and Ella Mizrahi's Envelope Tree. If you've got some photos or video from the night, let us know!
Our amazing web team, Scott Arthur and Xanthe Harrison, have set up a gallery on our site. Visit it to check out the photographic stylings of Elizabeth Clarkson, David St George and Jen Van Blerk.
Art in the Dark on One News from Art in the Dark on Vimeo.
That's us on One News. Look at The Velociteers go!
This is one event that exposes Auckland citizens' yearning for art as part of the script of everyday life, and the expression of a rather whimsical society.
Much of the evening's ambience and the extraordinary feeling of utter safety despite being in an urban park after dark resulted from light effects. Children swung and slid on the playground equipment lit with coloured balloons, creating their own delicious soundtrack.
There is no real ending to the evening. It is a seamless event with a warm, receptive and comfortable crowd. Hundreds of people take in the peaceful surveys of imaginative minds and bodies of the selected artists.
I for one can see how this event could become as perennial as the Franklin Road lights, the Otara markets, the Antique fairs -- and I look forward to next year's event already.
Excerpts from Felicity's review of Art in the Dark 2011 for Theatreview.
Art in the Dark from Kaan Hiini on Vimeo.
We are still in recovery from packing down Art in the Dark, but I promise that there will be more blog posts very soon! To tide you over, here is a great video of the event by Kaan Hiini.
We could not have asked for a better opening night - thanks for coming and proving that Auckland is an arts capital!
A few comments from our letterbox:
"Hi Art xxx"
"Love your work so sexy! x"
"Terribly amazing"
"I love art. This is helping my career a lot with art. Nice job"
"Thanks for the entertainment and the jellybeans. Awesome idea!"
"Well done on providing an awesome evening away from study! But where is the mist rainbow?!" (Ed: Down the bottom of the park, after Brydee Rood's installation)
"Hi, I went to this art thing here last year and love it so much! Love from Will"
Beautiful photos by Elizabeth Clarkson.
All you photographers, videographers, get ready! It's time to crack out the cameras and come down to Western Park. Art in the Dark is probably the most photogenic event in Auckland and we'd love for you to come along and document it. If you're really, really keen (which you totally should be), send in your fave photos or videos and we'll pop them on our Facebook page and generally show off your steez.
We're a bit sad at Art in the Dark HQ today: while we were setting up in Western Park this morning, someone took a crate of very important rigging. As a community and not for profit event we really rely on the goodwill of others, and this rigging was lent to us by one of our supporters.
If you have any information about the whereabouts of this crate, please let us know - you can find our contact details here, and we'll be in Western Park all day tomorrow if you want to sneak it back (and you should- what are you going to do with a crate of rigging, anyway?)
Thanks to Localist for writing about this - who knows, maybe someone will be a good citizen and return it!
il buco is the Artist Sponsor of Emily Priest at Art in the Dark. They have a great deal so you can enjoy a picnic dinner of pizza in the park. Simply tell the il buco staff as you are ordering that you will take your pizza to Western Park to enjoy Art in the Dark, and you will only pay $5 per slice! This offer is available on the 11th and 12th of November between 6pm - 8pm. Check out www.ilbuco.co.nz for more info on delicious il buco traditional Roman Pizza.
Sad because you missed Celia Harrison and Emily Priest on Upbeat today? Well, wipe those tears away because you can listen to it here, right now.
What does this picture have to do with Art in the Dark? You'll have to wait and see!
The amazing Annabel Harrison performed her beautiful tea cup dance at our launch on Tuesday. Annabel is performing at Art in the Dark this year, and is supported by the wonderful people at Localist.
Photos courtesy of Entertain Me.
Coming to Art in the Dark? We'd love it if you could RSVP on our newly minted Facebook event - click here to quickly get it done!
Despite the rain, tonnes of friends, sponsors and artists descended on the beautiful Barrio to launch Art in the Dark last night. You can see all the photos of our slightly damp pals on Facebook, courtesy of the lovely Liv and Claudia at Entertain Me. Thanks to Tiger and Il Buco for the beers and pizza (our fave) and to Annabel Harrison for her stunning Teacup dance!
Images courtesy of Entertain Me.
Win an Art in the Dark Prize Pack worth $250!
To enter, click ‘like’ on the Art in the Dark facebook page before 10pm 9 November 2011. All our friends will go in the draw to win!
The prize pack includes:
Click here for Terms & Conditions.
We can't make an event like this work without a little help from our friends. Art in the Dark is looking for enthusiastic volunteers for set up and production, supervising installations and tours, packdown and clean up at Art in the Dark 2011.
Volunteers are required for:
setting up the installations in Western Park on Thursday 10th of November and Friday 11th of November.
supervising installations and conducting tours throughout the park on Friday 11th of November and Saturday 12th of November 7pm-12.30am
to help with the pack down of the event on Sunday 13 November
This is a great opportunity to network, get up close and personal with some amazing artworks and be part of a large scale, award winning event .
References will be written for volunteers on request following the event.
Get in touch with Kat or Celia if you're keen to help!
Only fifteen days to go until Art in the Dark hits town! Keep your eyes peeled for our amazing billboard from Omnigraphics on Ponsonby Road. There's something extra-special in the works with this one - all I'll say is that we've left it blank for a reason...
Brydee Rood's thought provoking piece, The Find Another Way Barricade attracted a lot of viewers at Art in the Dark last year. She's back this year, with an piece that promises to be equally intriguing - pop over to her artist page to have a look...
The Find Another Way Barricade, Brydee Rood, 2010.
Image courtesy of Sam Stradwick. You may not use this image for commercial purposes.
I'm so excited to show you these beautiful black and white images of Art in the Dark 2010. I found them on Sam Stradwick's Flickr page a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting with baited breath for the opportunity to post them. Sam, I hope you come along and take some more photos this year! These images are of works by La Lumiere, Aja Prendergrast and Emily Priest.
Please, if you have photos or videos of Art in the Dark that you'd like to share, drop me a line!
All photos used courtesy of Sam Stradwick.You may not use these images for commercial purposes.
Volunteering for Art in the Dark is fun! Get up close and personal with the artworks, hang out in a park all day, tell people not to touch fragile power cables - it's a blast! If you want to help with the hoisting, showcasing, guarding and guiding, please get in touch with Kat. You can find her contact details here. She'd love to hear from you!
Lara Fischel Chisholm is a truly multi-talented artist, and she's going to show off her dance and burlesque talents tonight at The Basement Theatre. In Flagrante, choreographed by the acclaimed Mary Jane O'Reilly opens at The Basement Theatre tonight for a six performance season, after getting amazing reviews in Wellington. Go along and see Lara (and five other equally stunning dancers) at her burlesque-y best. I tried to find a picture for this blog post but they're all a bit...sassy...for this family website.
Kristina Levings and Sarah Harris collaborated with local poet Tourettes for Art in the Dark 2010. Their piece was a highlight of the weekend, with visitors to Western Park settling into the valley to watch the whole projection unfold. Simon Lieschke took some excellent photos of their piece, and although I tried to limit myself to just a few, I wound up choosing eight (!) of my favourites. The whole set is here if you want to see more! Kristina is joining us again for Art in the Dark 2011, and can't wait to see what she has in store for us.
All photos used courtesy of Simon Lieschke.You may not use these images for commercial purposes.
Trawling the internet last night I happened upon Simon Lieschke's photos and videos from Art in the Dark 2010. We haven't seen much video footage from the event (we were too busy flip-flopping between being incredibly stressed and high fiving each other to think about filming anything) so are very chuffed to have Simon's videos to show you. You can even hear some of Che O'Donnell Gibson and Will Reece's sound installation in the background! Simon has more photos and videos from the night on his flickr which you should definitely peruse.
If you have any amazing photos, videos or recordings from Art in the Dark 2010 that you'd like to share, just send me an email.
Art in the Dark - Auckland New Zealand October 2010 from Max Volt on Vimeo.
Video made by Max Volt - thanks!
We set up at a little display in St Kevins arcade for First Thursdays last week to spread the word about Art in the Dark. In true Art in the Dark style, our display was made up of re-used boxes lit up by LED reading lights...where would we be with out them? We were excited to sign up a few new artists (stay tuned) as well as some volunteers and supporters. Thanks for coming to say "hi" and remember to send your Art in the Dark postcard on to someone special! Photo courtesy of Liv at EntertainMe.
Returning artist Melissa Durbin proved her stamina and commitment to the Art in the Dark cause with her 2010 interactive performance piece, Trick or Treat. Huddled inside a cardboard cottage over two nights, Melissa distributed surprising and delightful tricks or treats to curious visitors to Western Park. If she was a favourite of yours, rest easy, Melissa has signed up for Art in the Dark 2011, and you can have a look at what she'll be doing here.
Nightshade, by Shian Perawiti and Rose Watson, provided a space for people to gather and relax during Art in the Dark 2010. Before the event, Celia and Adelle from Art in the Dark visited Westmere Primary School to make lanterns with some of the students there. These beautiful handmade lanterns were then taken to Western Park to decorate Nightshade - have a look!
The Moo Chandelier was Hamish Stirrat, Callum Dowie and Jun Tsujimoto's creation for the last Art in the Dark. A crowd favourite, this piece was made up of hundreds of recycled milk bottles, lit up by LED lights and hoisted several metres up in the air between two trees.
It's crazy to think that this time last year we were readying ourselves for the first ever Art in the Dark. We were so happy to be covered by TV3's Nightline - less so to be ambushed by a bare-bummed Metallica fan half-way through the segment. Celia and reporter Ali Ikram's quick recovery was very impressive, all things considered! The video has since found fame on various photo-bomb websites, but you can see it on the 3 News website.
Celia Harrison, the smarty-pants who came up with Art in the Dark, won a Gold Award for Best Spatial Design in the Student category for the inaugural Art in the Dark event at this year's Best Design Awards on Friday night. There were over 800 entries in the awards, and of those, a total of 268 were awarded prizes across the Graphic, Interactive, Product and Spatial categories. We think that this is a very big deal and are so happy that Celia's very hard work and huge imagination has been recognised by such an esteemed judging panel.
For more information about the Best Awards, go visit their website and have a look at the other very amazing entries.
