Dreaming of a Tate Modern Aotearoa

Lovemarks Inspirational Consumer Feature
http://www.lovemarks.com/community/topfive/25


My dream of a Tate Modern Aotearoa led me to Saatchi, then to Kevin Roberts, then to NZEdge.com and to Lovemarks. Like a lot of people, I found Lovemarks on a detour. Since moving to New Zealand in 2001 (from the historic coastal town of Beaufort, South Carolina) I have stopped acquiring books, subscribing to periodicals, or buying packaged recorded music. I consume information in a different way, and I depend heavily on an iMac. The Internet is another form of information, news, and inspiration and I am there often.

Iím not really an apostle of the Lovemarks non-brand brand, but I am a disciple of the website. It is a bold, genius, sly, visionary device. I can hardly resist the urge to add my thoughts, cherished memories, fond recollections, past consumptions and product relationships. The telling of these things, by thousands of other disciples, has generated a crowd of tiny ethnographies for all to explore.

Whenever Iím in a foreign city -- Barcelona, Rio, Venice, Sydney -- I always visit a local supermarket, pharmacy, and cinema to see how the normal culture gets along and how it consumes lifeís essentials. My favourite stores are op shops, Asian groceries, anything in Wellingtonís Cuba Street, a handful of on-line retailers and auction sites, military and scientific surplus, the Island Bay Butchery, restaurant supply stores, and the ubiquitous (in New Zealand) $2 Shop.

Iíd like to own most things designed by Philippe Starck. Every chair, radio, toothbrush, fly-swatter, hotel interior he touches seems to explore the previously unimagined and the charmingly real. I am perpetually in search of a classic late 1960ís Lambretta scooter, and the Citroen DS, the car known as goddess, is probably the single greatest form of individual transport ever invented. Finally, Iíd like to be in Barcelona again. I donít think that even the most skilled alchemist could conjure up a city as interesting, exciting, friendly, gastronomical, lively, warm, or fit for a Lovemark than that. But more than anything else, Iíd like to see a Tate Modern satellite museum built in Wellington, half a world away.

Eric Holowacz, New Zealand
eric@holowacz.com

Creativity Flourishes at Island Bay School

Wellington City Council Press Release

Island Bay School is seeking projects and proposals for their new Artist-in-Residence Programme.

The school has quietly been building an arts-friendly environment where creativity flourishes and students thrive. The educators, students and parents believe that the artistic process is a vital tool in the growth of the individual, contributing to who we are, the ways we learn, and the understanding we have of the world. Thanks to a unique partnership with the new Wellington Arts Centre, the school has plans to host four diverse artist-led projects in 2006.

The Island Bay School Artist-in-Residency Programme will be launched in February 2006, and the school is now accepting proposals from interested creative people.

Eric Holowacz, Arts Programmes and Services Manager at Wellington City Council, says that this is a pioneering effort, and one that could involve artists from every creative discipline.

"The guidelines are very simple, and the terms of the residency are flexible and open to almost every kind of arts project as long as they bring new creative ideas to the school, involve collaboration with the students, and have a connection with the school curriculum."

Selected artists-in-residence will be provided with a $1000 project fee and a small stipend for materials. Travel costs, overnight accommodation, and other expenses will be the responsibility of the artist. Four artist residencies are planned, with each requiring an average of 10 school days on-site.

"Magical things can happen when artists share their ideas with students and develop them in the school environment," says Mr Holowacz, who has been drafting the project with teachers Gretchen Buwalda and Andrea Bailey. Initial seed money for the Island Bay School Artist-in-Residence programme was raised at the school's art auction which was held earlier this year.
He says that the project may be a pilot for other schools and involve many local creative people.