WCC 4: Windy, wild, and just the way I like it

Written by Molly McCarthy

It truly hit home that I was back in Wellington when, with calves burning and a line of sweat forming across my forehead, I spent 20 minutes marching up the dreaded Brooklyn Road, thinking every corner was my last and being sorely disappointed when each one wasn’t. Despite the fact that I normally claim not to notice the attributes of Wellington that others complain about, four months in Auckland had clearly made me unaccustomed to the hills, the wind and the constant cold nip in the night air. Indeed, as I lay in bed on my first night in my new flat, with the building shaking each time a gust of wind billowed down my street, I couldn’t help but think, ‘This is meant to be summer.’

But as the weeks draw on, I find myself less exhausted at the top of each hill, naturally wearing more layers when I leave the flat at night, and generally being very pleased to be back in Wellington. Moving into our first flat has seen my flatmates and I very quickly develop skills in the area of furniture salvage and restoration – a tipsy bookshelf was our first piece of furniture, we refer to it as ‘Jenga’ given its temperamental nature and propensity to collapse when one removes a book from it.

Moving back to Wellington has also reminded me of just how much there is to do in this compact wee city. When I first started writing this column, I claimed that I would find art in every nook and cranny – “hunt it out”, if need be. Spend just 5 minutes in Wellington however, and it soon becomes very apparent how unnecessary ‘hunting’ of any sort actually is. Walk the length of Cuba St and you will be visually accosted by advertisements for at least fifty gigs, plays or exhibitions. You would have to be literally blind not to notice these opportunities to experience original music, theatre and art on a day-to-day basis.

But this advertising goes a lot further than your humble poster (which, if eased from its place with skill and patience, can become attractive flat art). Plays at the BATS Theatre often seem to have particularly creative means of luring punters. Hansel and Gretel saw fluoro-coloured pebbles dropped across the city Hansel-style, ironically-coloured yellow balloons hung in Cuba St to promote Sometimes I Don’t Like Yellow and strangely dressed performers hit the streets to promote the recent The Black Hole Menagerie. Elsewhere, chalked pavement promotions cover footpaths across the university, and the brightly coloured spots continue to adorn the City Gallery following Yayoi Kusama’s recent exhibition.

Aside from the creative advertising, Wellington’s art often overflows from its venues on to its very sidewalks. Just yesterday I passed a talented three-piece brass band playing in an alcove, tucked away down a side street. Elsewhere one can imagine having to pay money to see a band of this calibre. In Wellington, one only has to venture off the main road.

It can be a little embarrassing at times to realise just how little I’ve made of the opportunities that are presented to me every day. While last year was a blur of moving to Wellington, getting used to university and meeting a large group of lovely people, I’m hoping that this year will see me becoming quite the culture vulture. Film festivals, gigs, art exhibitions, installations, buskers, plays...
It appears I have quite the busy year ahead of me.
Watch this space.