Arts on a Budget - Issue 6

Written by Louise Evans

I’m on a mission from Morph Head Office: to descend into the depths of Auckland’s arts-on-the-cheap underworld. (enter theme tune, yet to be composed, but being budget conscious, probably on a kazoo.)

Instead of black lycra I’m clad in woollies for the winter nights, instead of a sleek multi-terrain vehicle I have a bicycle, bus ticket, and flatmate’s car, and instead of a mysterious masked benefactor there’s a mere twenty dollar note to burn on the ‘arts’ in Auckland.  It has to accommodate as many types of arts as possible, so I’m seeking events requiring koha, preferably free, or at worst about $5 a ticket.

Such descent is not unbeknownst to Agent Evans who is confident skimping on moolah won’t equate to skimping on quality and quantity. Of course being gainfully employed limits attendance to late afternoon, evening and weekend events. Let it be known that what was accomplished is merely touching the surface of the city’s artistic activity.

Suffering sleep deprivation and overstimulation at the end of the week, this agents’ last pondering on Sunday night was of the level of collaboration and generosity that emerged from these creative souls who produce and perform at these events. And that the ingenuity and professionalism would rival anything to pay good money for.

Oh and only $15 was spent....

MONDAY
Bright eyed and bushy tailed, lurking at the Wine Cellar for Vitamin S. Groups of performers are compiled, without prior rehearsal, for free improvisation. Fellow muso Anna-Kaye and I take a pew at the back. First half? A bit touch and go, with moments of full cacophonic exorcism and others of subdued reflection. Overwhelmingly it features contorted vocals and apocalyptic piano.
The 2nd half was sheer comic delight as the silver cardboard double bass, Theremin, and two folks on newspapers whipped up an unpredictable tune likening the moment before a drive-by shooting crossed with ‘we’re going on a lion hunt’. Theremin Boy assumes a glam-rock stance that even the Theremin is intimidated by, the bass accelerates like a marathon runner’s heartbeat, whilst those on newspapers become intoxicated with the joy of shredding and scrunching. I’m enamoured by the humour and originality...

www.vitamin-s.co.nz

‘-What does New Zealand need more of? Venues where it doesn’t matter if you don’t like who is performing, because you just like being there...Nah, what NZ needs is more mad tea parties.’ - Conversation at the Wine Cellar
‘Errrkkkyyyhjjjjjj.’ - Vitamin S lyricist. Translation pending.


TUESDAY
I’m cheating a little by working at Satellite Gallery for Andrew Blythe’s exhibition. Openings are a great way for viewing art, as you are usually not alone under the scrutiny of gallery staff.  They’re generally free to attend and you can discuss works with others, as well as the artist themselves. You might even meet their family, which sometimes explains a lot....
Hahna and Glenn scuttle down the hill with me to Poetry Live, which currently lives in the Classic Studio, an ambient brick walled space cluttered with tiny tables. Upon arrival a man accompanied by cello and guitar spewed forth witticisms and observations on gardening and insane asylums. The open mike featured domineering wild-eyed types, Westies, and retiring literary aficionados. Witnessing the sharing of verse and a truly attentive audience was pure Class. The koha bucket is passed around with free copies of Sidestream, a simple booklet of submitted poetry. Ta.

www.satellitegallery.co.nz
www.poetrylive.co.nz

We jump poetry ship to the Wine Cellar. NZ Trio is performing with guests... what guests! A conflicted dancer/actor, whilst delivering a Winnie the Pooh monologue, resigned himself to his elbows operating of their own accord. A toy triceratops with flashing red eyes took a solo spot with lumbering ferocity. A vocalists’ gargling likened Yma Sumac’s morning mouthwash routine, and the plastic bag over her head as a kazoo brought both wonderment and discomfort. She was still making noise so we reassured ourselves that she wasn’t smothered. Door charge $5

‘Christopher Robin .....Isn’t he a bit young to be hanging out with bears?’
‘Phil Dadson and I are not going to mention anything about the hand that is stuck to my forehead.’ Dancer/actor, Wine Cellar


WEDNESDAY
Introducing Arts Companion Number 4 - John Paul (music buff and not at all averse to going to things like the orchestra). It’s Auckland Philharmonic’s Happy Hour in the Town Hall , where the orchestra presents musical slices from their upcoming season, hoping you’ll fork out for a full cake later. It was stuffed to the gunnels with families....one man arrived holding his son by the ankles. New ways to introduce culture to the young...

This event is a fantastically palatable introduction to classical music, with insight into the workings of the orchestra, what makes a new piece of music, and the roles of the instruments through presentations by conductors, composers and such folks. Tonight’s composer was all white hair and rambling charm, his speech a symphony unto itself, as the peaks and troughs of his voice boomed across the chamber.  The work was apparently Klezmer inspired, its’ construction a little odd at times and overly complicated, but with moments of true paranoia.....Cost: FREE

Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra
www.apo.org.nz

‘It’s a very rare thing.... but we are going to use an accordion.’ MC, Auckland Philharmonic Happy Hour
‘It’s a bit.....Cape Fear.’ John-Paul


THURSDAY
The seething mass of Craftwerk is terrifying, but Jess (Arts Companion Number 4) and I cast ourselves bodily into the maelstrom. The biblical proportions of stalls at this market in St Kevin’s arcade reminds one of lions lying down with the lambs, extreme minimalism cohabiting peacefully with the overly cluttered and fluffy. We’re taken by the felted representations of sharks and rabbits, and the use of Fimo being taken to new levels. Music, clothing, crafts and obscurity abound, gosh, how industrious everyone has been! Jess commented that it’s not dissimilar to a pleasant smelling fish market. Being of cupcake baking royalty (see Recipes of the Recession), she was also chuffed with the abundance of baked goods. Standing back from the mob we ogled the spectacle that is Craftwerk pedestrian fashion. It seems everyone keeps a dress up box for the occasion.

We’re pushed out of the stairwell by an angsty unisex fashion show so we retreat to an ottoman in the Wine Cellar and lap up the musical buffet well into the night.

www.craftwerk.co.nz

‘Some people just don’t like skulls and crossbones on their cupcakes’ Craftwerk stallholder
'I've never seen anything like this since the 60s' Craftwerk patron (of a promising age to have experienced the ‘60s)


FRIDAY
I’m back at the Town Hall being wolf-whistled by a group of schoolboys lined up outside. They’re mortified when I walk past them into the hall. Admittedly I’m the odd one out. The hall is packed with school kids for the matinee of this theatre piece about a street of many ethnicities in South Auckland.  ‘Our Street’ opens with a young Tongan brass band that had none of the pompous stuff, and all of the sassy stuff. From that moment on it was a modern day gladiator ring...the crowd possessed with the action upon the stage. Heckling and guffawing punctuated the performance as the actors wound tales of Auckland life around song and dance numbers. Arranged marriages, dissing of cultures, and comments about females were met with raucous indignation, whilst dance numbers and distinctly Auckland humour were wildly applauded.

Most touching event of the week, what a brave new world it represents! Playing for your peers, and challenging the stereotypical ideas of the arts through youth and ethnicity.

SATURDAY
Erk, it takes a lot of energy to be this cheap.
Jess and I are at the Art Lounge, where a session of Winter Warmers, a series of talks from arts industry peoples, is taking place. We’re welcomed by fortune cookies and a cheery urn of tea water. The Oryza Foundation speaks on of 6 x 10 minute plays which are in development for next year. It’s fascinating to hear about Asian scripwriting and theatre culture in NZ, and the work being done developing both arts and audience for it in NZ. There’s much discussion about NZ’s high population of Asians, but not many attending theatre, and how this initiative hopes to change that somewhat. Then two stunning/heartbreaking short films were screened, The Memory Booth and Embers. The cinematography and the capturing of relationships and conflict are gracefully succinct.
I leave with sturdy faith in nations’ future and diversification of theatre and filmmaking.
www.oryzafoundation.org.nz

‘The ship is safest in the port, yet it is not made for that.’ Fortune cookie, Winter Warmers


SUNDAY
It rains. The skies weep upon the earth with unending sorrow, blanketing the sun. Jess - fast becoming the Ultimate Arts Companion – and I head to Devonport for the Depot Artspace’s ‘Songs of the Recession’, a music showcase of emerging singer songwriters.  The smattering of people braved the weather were treated to a meditative and intimate performance. Jason Fishwick, who works with PACE programme music department, organised it for musicians to be given a chance to perform and gain exposure, and more ‘Songs’ are planned for the next few months. It’s a nice way to end the week, to listen and talk with those who champion the rise of artists through accessing an audience for them....