Tag: Arts Centre

Upside down

It might be Easter, but in the Southern Hemisphere Easter is in Autumn, not Spring. Yet there were ducklings in the Botanic Gardens this morning.

Rain threatened, so we walked in the city (via the Gardens) rather than the beach. At the Arts Centre we saw the Ghostcat exhibition of miniatures. The buildings modelled are ones which didn’t survive the earthquake that turned us upside down in 2011. A painting in the hallway gives an artist‘s impression of the Arts Centre as a place full of creative people.

Maxine Burney

We discovered a display space new to us. It shows the work of the stone masons who are repairing the Arts Centre. There are activities for children, and a family sat around a table gluing coloured squares onto paper. From the window you can see repair work in progress and neatly stacked piles of stone and brick ready for re-use.

It still hadn’t rained by the time I got home, so I risked doing some washing. Just as the spin cycle clicked off, down came the rain. So the washing went into the dryer or onto the airer. There was nothing for it but to light the first fire of the year and sit beside it with a good book – and chocolate. How did I manage to eat two thirds of that chocolate bunny?

A walk in the park

With doubtful weather this morning, we decided to walk in the park instead of on the beach. The town has been buzzing the last few days with the Electric Avenue music event in the park on Friday and Saturday. Over the fence, we could see how beautifully presented the venue was.

To match the weather, we walked through the Water Garden and remarked on the autumn colours – surely it’s not autumn yet?!

The Arts Centre provided the consolation of hot drinks at Frances Nation – with a delightful swan on the top of my flat white. Across the road at a craft market, we marvelled at the dextrous work of the stall holder who specialises in miniatures.

While the heavens did not open, as we feared they might – there was just a light drizzle from time to time – we enjoyed all there was to see in the Gardens (highlight: the Curator’s Garden) and the Arts Centre (notable: the new Arts Centre Shop). And we still managed our usual number of Sunday walk steps: over 6,000.

Impressive Art

It’s the time of year when going to the movies – into a darkened room – is more appealing than during summer. I walked into town in brisk, windy weather after getting my flu injection this morning. During the 20 minute waiting time before I could leave the medical centre, I looked up what is on at the movies and found one perfectly timed after my singing class and just a block away at the Arts Centre. I am impressed by the art of Frances Hodgkins, have been to the European Journeys exhibition and read the book, and was delighted to see that the documentary Frances Hodgkins: Anything but a Still Life which first screened almost a year ago was making a return visit to the Lumiēre cinema. It proved to be wonderful and completely absorbing.

The cinema is pretty impressive too, making excellent use of a part of the Arts Centre overlooking the Botanic Gardens and decorated with style.

After taking this photo, I turned to take one of the gilt mirror with seashell motif opposite and, of course, found I was reflected in it. Not only that, but my lovely passed-on jacket almost matched the colour scheme. I sent the photo to the friend who passed on the jacket and she advised me not to sit on the sofa in case I became invisible!

I was tempted to go to the movie which was about to begin as I left (Wicked Little Letters) but decided to save it for another day and walked home, scuffing through leaves on Montreal Street, dodging scooter riders in Cranmer Square, and reliving the documentary I had just seen.

Post Script for Felix fans: Felix helped unpack the shopping (again) this afternoon.

Sensory stimuli

The restored gates to the Botanic Gardens impressed my friend and me this morning when, instead of taking our usual beach walk, we decided to visit the Arts Centre. The new entrance is grander than the previous one which was tucked in beside the Museum.

The annual Sculpture Festival is on in the Great Hall. There is a wonderful variety of creative work: glass, metal, ceramic, some with political messages and many with environmental and indigenous themes and materials.

Fiona Tunnicliffe
John Hill
John Hill
Jane Downes

I love the energy of these sculptures:

There were more in the quadrangle.

Very tall chairs

We walked around the back of the Arts Centre where the renovations are still in progress. We peered into an large artists’ studio off this courtyard and considered the interesting (incongruous?) mix of metal air bridge, brickwork, geometrical stone paving, exposed pipe work and plywood.

It will be interesting to watch how this area develops. What will the paving stones lead to?

The design of the original Arts Centre buildings is neo-gothic. Quirky features such as stepped windows, curved corners, and circular windows fit this style – all in one corner. Even the drainpipes are ornate.

We cruised around a craft market admiring the ingenuity of the artists and held kauri gum shapes thousands of years old in our hands. After all that – plus delicious chocolate and strawberry muffins and coffee/hot chocolate – we felt our senses enlivened by the morning’s stimuli.

Home again, I feel I am looking with new eyes at the shapes and textures of the garden. Suddenly, it’s alive with sculptural shapes – and actual sculptures – which I had forgotten or taken for granted.

Spot: Long-necked ceramic woman (a present from walking friend), ‘Orville’s Dream’ metal sculpture made from found materials, ‘Loopy Lou’ copper sprinkler, 3-bowl water feature, fish lure (found on beach) with barnacle attached, and a cat-ladder leading to a platform. There’s an old copper in there too, repurposed as a planter.