MAKING SPACE

MAKING SPACE celebrates collaborative creative practice taking place in Aotearoa New Zealand today.

Taking place in the heart of Ōtautahi Christchurch - where collaboration and collective working has become a part of the fabric of this post-earthquake city - MAKING SPACE involves six diverse artist collectives and over 30 individuals practising at the cutting-edge of the Aotearoa New Zealand art community

Collectives often form around a common need for space, whether that space is physical, conceptual or cultural. In 2017, space for engaging with contemporary art and culture is at a premium - particularly in regenerating Ōtautahi Christchurch. This exhibition brings together six Aotearoa New Zealand-based collectives who have all been actively creating spaces, for themselves and/or their communities, in the past five years. For the duration of MAKING SPACE, CoCA will dedicate its tangible and intangible spaces to their work, becoming a place to make -- art, conversation, critical discourse and social connections.

 

MAKING SPACE encourages the exploration of the contexts and motivations for collaborative practices in Aotearoa today. Collectives FAFSWAG, FIKA Writers, Fresh and Fruity, Mata Aho Collective, SaVAge K’lub and The Social were invited mid-2016 to consider the premise of an exhibition of collective practices and to put forward proposals to show existing artworks, interactive installations, and live performances. As conversations have developed, some of the collectives have also chosen to host and occupy; creating studio space, as well as leading events, residencies and workshops inside and outside of the gallery.

 

MAKING SPACE encourages community. The collectives’ methodology is varied; whether it’s two or ten immediate members of the collective, or connections rippling out into the wider whānau (family), they pull together and expand potentials. The pooling of resources, ideas and energy allows the collective to flourish where an individual might not. Their support for each other creates rich spaces for creative and critical exploration, offering opportunities to shift how we view art, and pushing art’s potential for social change.

 

The way the exhibition will unfold is unpredictable. It sees the convergence of a multiplicity of voices, both discordant and harmonious. Beginning with a closed, artist-led [fono/noho/gathering] of all the collectives in the gallery, and a co-created opening event, the exhibition will continue to develop and change throughout its duration. Contributions may be added or taken away. Live events will be a core component.

Curated by Khye Hitchcock

 

 

ABOUT THE COLLECTIVES

FAFSWAG

Fresh and Fruity

FIKA Writers

Mata Aho Collective

SaVAge K'lub

The Social

Ka honohono ngā tangata toi i runga anō i ngā hiahia kia whāi wāhi toi, ahakoa he wāhi ōkiko, he wāhi tō hinengaro, he wāhi ahurea rānei. I te tau 2017 he wāhi motuhake te wāhi hono tāngata me te mahi toi, he uaua te kite wāhi, me te mea kei te whakahou tonu i te taone o Ōtautahi. He hononga tēnei whakaaturanga o ngā huihuinga tāngata e ono rātou kua whai wāhi auaha mō rātou ake me ō rātou hapori i ngā tau e rima kua pahure ake. Mō tēnei whakaaturanga WHAKARITE WĀHI, kua wahaina wāhi  motuhake me ngā wāhi ōpaki e CoCA, hei wāhi mahi toi, whakawhitiwhiti kōrero, arohaehae kōrero me te whakahoahoa tāngata.

 

WHAKARITE WĀHI e akiaki ana i te whakahōparatanga o ngā horopaki me te whai tikanga kia mahi tahi i Aotearoa i ēnei rā. He kohikohinga FAFSWAG, FIKA Writers, Fresh and Fruity, Mata Aho Collective, SaVAge K’lub me The Social i pōwhiringia i waenganui i te tau 2016 hei whakaarohia he whakaaturanga  e honohono ana ngā tikanga ā rōpū me te tono kaupapa e whakaatu ana mahi toi kua hanga kētia, ngā mahi hanga toi pāhekoheko, me ngā whakaaturanga mataora. Ka  puawai ngā kōrerorero, ka whakaritea ngā huihuinga kaimahi toi ki te whakatū me te whakaatu mahi toi; whakarite wāhi toi me te whakahaere kaupapa, nohoanga toi; me ngā wānanga toi o roto i te whare whakaaturanga o waho ranei.

 

WHAKARITE WĀHI he kaupapa akiaki i te hapori.  He rerekē ngā tikanga whakahaere a tēnā rōpū, a tēnā rōpū, ahakoa tokorua ngā tāngata mahi toi tekau rānei ngā tāngata, ka whakapā atu hoki ki te whānau whānui, ka whakarauika, ka whakawhānui hoki te te puna pitomata hei kaimahi toi. Ko te kohikohi  rauemi, ngā whakaaro me ngā tāngata whai pānga he tikanga whakapakari i te ohu ringatoi kaua ko te tangata takitahi. Ko te tautoko a tētahi ki tētahi, e hāpai ana i ngā mahi toi auaha me ngā mahi toi arohaehae, kia kite ngā hua me ngā nekehanga o te tirohanga mahi toi, me te whai take hei werowero i te ao pāpori nei kia rerekē.

 

He matawhawhati te tirohanga o te whakaaturanga nei. He huihuinga reo, e whakahē ana, e whakaae ana rānei. Ka tīmata te whakaaturanga i ngā ringatoi me tētahi wānanga i waenganui i a rātou anō i ngā ohu mahi, me tētahi mahi whakatūwhera nā rātou anō i whakarite, ā, ka whanake haere te whakaaturanga i te roanga atu o te wā whakaatu. Ka tāpirihia ētahi mahi toi ka tango atu ētahi. He mea whai mana ngā whakaaturanga matawhawhati.

 

Nā Khye Hitchcock tēnei whakaaturanga i waihanga.