The Whole House ReUse Project was founded and codirected by two women: Juliet Arnott and Kate McIntyre. With teams organised by Rekindle almost 100 artists and craftspeople from throughout Aotearoa (and beyond) have turned a red-zone Christchurch building into 390 creative works ranging from a 4m x 2.5m studio-sleepout, and dining suites, to an elegant Maori flute, […]
More Matariki Events…
June 18, 2015 by 1 Comment
Our first Matariki event was an afternoon tea with distinguished Maori writer Patricia Grace at the refurbished Edwardian Masonic Hotel in Devonport. Patricia was introduced by Mere Whaanga who is currently the writer in residence at the Michael King Centre in Devonport. Patricia Grace has just launched her new novel, Chappy, her first major fiction work in […]
Coming Home…
June 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A couple of interesting discoveries on the way home from National Park.. In Owhango, a pair of pensioners having a cuppa in a shop window caught our eye, so we stopped to inspect them more closely – a cleverly crafted quilted couple…and just as Tanya was about to snap a photo, the owner of The […]
Arts, Animals, Admiration, Ambivalence..
May 19, 2015 by 1 Comment
We had an unexpected opportunity in late April to visit the Gibbs Farm Park in Kaukapakapa, north of Auckland. On earlier journeys we’d glimpsed from the road Bernar Venet’s corten steel cluster (called 88.5° ARC x8) but were even more impressed by Neil Dawson’s beautiful Horizons and Maririjke de Goey’s The Mermaid, above… […]
Defiant Architecture
May 19, 2015 by 1 Comment
We’ve been stimulated and inspired by several films in the recent Resene Architecture and Design Film Festival, particularly three about extraordinary women, and two about New Zealand’s own Ian Athfield. Three Women’s Worlds Those who Dare, Win featured Zaha Hadid, born in Baghdad in 1950, and widely regarded as the most extraordinary architect in the world at […]
Anzac Day: Celebrate or Commemorate?
April 19, 2015 by 4 Comments
I’m alarmed about the extent of the commemorations of Gallipoli, which are beginning to verge on celebrations. Celebrations of what? Of men from New Zealand going to Turkey to try and kill other men they’ve never met and have no personal reason to hate? Of their bravery in the face of death? Of their loyalty to […]
Women’s Days …
March 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Every day we see strong women, creative women, women changing the world for the better. Almost every day we’re also confronted with images of women demeaned or brutalised. So for International Women’s Day, March 8, we are featuring some of the women we’ve seen this month. The appalling… Franklin Plumbing – which used to be a strong New Zealand […]
More Women’s Days…
March 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Many women use drama, weaving, tapa cloth making, knitting and crochet, food preparation, to affirm goodness and to assert their positive power. We’ve experienced a wealth of this creativity in March WISE (Women, Inspired, Strong, Empowered & Enterprising) and the ARMS Trust (Auckland Refugee and Migrant Services) had a splendid display of craft work at the Corban Estate […]
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