News

Arts patron Sir James Wallace

Taken from The Big Idea, by Renee Liang.

Sir James Wallace talks about the rewards of supporting the arts and his concerns that creative growth in NZ could be stymied, if the next generation of arts philanthropists don't step up.

"The current crop of young, wealthy individuals seem to be spending more money on themselves than anything. I think it's the 'me' generation - and all we can do is try and chip away at this attitude."

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Recently, in the Queen's Birthday honours list, well known arts philanthropist James Wallace was honoured with a knighthood. But in an accompanying NZ Herald article, Sir James expressed his worry that few of the younger generation are becoming arts philanthropists.

This hit a chord in me. As an emerging artist competing for scraps from a very limited funding bucket, I've been wondering how to access private philanthropy. I'm probably not the only one feeling shy about approaching individuals and businesses for cash - unless it's someone we have some connection to already.

It's probably a fallacy, but there's a feeling out there that unless you're already famous and well established, private funders won't want to support your work. (Sir James, of course, is one of the exceptions. His passion for supporting emerging artists and collecting their work is well known in the visual arts world.)

In fact, what he is saying opens a much wider conversation. I mean, it goes two ways doesn't it? If artists don't make the links and ask for help, then surely we can't expect arts patronage to grow in this country. And to do this, we need to improve our knowledge and awareness of how to do this.

It turns out that this has already been recognized in a recent Cultural Philanthropy taskforce report commissioned last year by Chris Finlayson, the Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage. Among the recommendations was the development of 'a fundraising capability building initiative to mentor and advise a cultural organisation on a one-to-one basis'. I would hope that advice and training will be available to individuals also. Maybe we need to advocate for this.

I was lucky enough to interview Sir James about his ideas around arts patronage.

Why do you fund the arts?
Arts and culture are vital for the health of any community. I was fortunate enough to become immersed in music when I started at King's College. At 16 I went to a private school in Boston on a scholarship and visited great galleries and heard concerts and operas in Boston and New York in particular. I then went on to hitchhike around Europe, visiting art museums, cathedrals and hearing some operas. I bought my first painting shortly after leaving law school at the University of Otago. My collecting was a bit haphazard at first as I was away in New York and London for the first few years and has limited funds to spare while setting up my own company. However those gaps have to a great extent been filled either by working with the relevant artist or in the secondary market at auctions. I never set out to invest in art, although you could say I invested in the artist. Nothing is ever sold so this is a diary Collection.

From an early stage, I've built a business with the intention of putting some of the profits back into arts. The Wallace Arts Trust has an income stream created from my businesses. In fact, you could say that the fact I'm in agribusinesses is almost accidental. I was trained as a businessman - the commodity is irrelevant, I could just as easily have ended up in the media business. But, I have a huge passion for everything I'm doing with Wallace Corporation Ltd., as much as I have for arts.

What excites you about arts in NZ right now?
There's a lot to be excited about. I travel overseas regularly - just so I don't become too parochial - and can say that the artists in NZ punch well above their weight. We are producing a large number of very good artists - in all the disciplines - great singers, composers, artists, playwrights.

Do you think the 'climate' of arts in NZ is nuturing - and how can we improve?
I do have a huge concern that the current generation of benefactors - people like Dame Jenny Gibbs and myself - are not being followed. We've all been putting money into the arts for 30, 40 years. But there's not many people following.

It's not just about donating money - it's also the voluntary work. I sit on about ten trusts and I'd dearly like to hand over responsibility, but it's hard to find takers. The current crop of young, wealthy individuals seem to be spending money on themselves more than anything. I think it's the 'me' generation - and all we can do is try and chip away at this attitude.

I did wonder whether or not to accept the Knighthood but in the end I decided that there was far too little recognition of the arts when compared to sports, business or other areas and that it might convince others to get involved showing that there was some possibility of reward or recognition.

What have been personal benefits of investing in the arts?
I go to a lot of plays, art galleries, concerts and other performances and I enjoy seeing the creation of a new work - watching how the process goes, how each artist develops. I also get great pleasure from getting to know many artists.

I do feel for some of the mid-career artists in the present climate - they aren't selling as much work, and they've had to divert some of their energy away from art. The works that are selling (and there is work selling for huge amounts) tend to be the more recognized artists with investment potential. I think people can help by taking the plunge and collecting an emerging or mid-career artist without necessarily knowing where their work will go. It's one way of supporting the visual artists.

Read the full article here.

Kiss My Arts interview - Ashton Brown

Taken from Kiss My Arts.

Ashton Brown is a writer and an actor in Short+Sweet - he tells us what he's been up to.

How did you get involved with Short+Sweet?
I was asked to act in a Short+Sweet piece last year as a moving chair. This year's festival was a natural decision as I had just started a theatre company with Kat Glass and we had a new short piece of theatre we were dying to put on.

What play(s) are you involved with?
All My Clients Are Lonely

Tell us something about the play(s):
All My Clients Are Lonely is the first play to be put on by the new theatre company, I'm Not Content Productions. It is my first public attempt at writing and it promises to be rude, crude, funny and entertaining. It reflects on human interactions, the games we inevitably play with one another and the desire for power.

What does preparation for the festival look like?
Cramming in rehearsals around "real world" jobs and attempting to turn our tiny living room into a brothel. Asking awkward requests of Dads to make stripper poles, furiously writing and re-writing, slashing and hacking my script in an attempt to keep it under ten minutes. A few beers and a bloody good time.

Other than the play you're involved in, which plays are you looking forward to seeing?
All of them. Really.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Introducing the Aotearoa Film & Television Awards

Taken from Throng.

Formerly known as the Qantas Film and Television Awards, now the Awards are back in 2011 but with a fresh look and a new name that better reflects the nature of the Awards - the Aotearoa Film and Television Awards (AFTAs).

Approximately sixty AFTAs will be awarded between the two Awards ceremonies, and a complete list of award categories and criteria are available on the AFTA website.

With the very strong slate of films and television programmes produced in New Zealand over the past year, organisers expect this year's Awards to be the most hotly contested in years.

The key dates for the 2011 Awards are:

Entries open: Monday 27 June
Entries close: Wednesday 10 August
Finalists Announcement: Friday 14 October
Craft Awards: Thursday 10 November
Gala Awards: Saturday 12 November

Regular followers of the Film and Television Awards will notice that the Awards have been moved back by about eight weeks from their normal timing in early September. This is a one-off change which recognises the Rugby World Cup activities in New Zealand across most of September and October.

The Awards continue to be administered jointly by The Screen Directors' Guild of New Zealand and ThinkTV (formerly the New Zealand Television Broadcasters' Council).

V48 Hours the final 13

Taken from NZ Herald, by Russell Baillie.

And so to the most important film event of the week and - to the very many involved - the year.

No, it's not Transformers III and it doesn't involve deciding whether it's worth paying extra for the 3D goggles.

It is the national finals of the V48 Hours film contest which comes to the Civic on Saturday after city finals have whittled down the 800 or so team entries to a final 13.

The winner is up for some serious prizes. Plus, there are awards in a long list of categories from acting through to the best use of this year's mandatory prop (a piece of wire), line ("what have you got?") and character (Bobby Young, an ex-bully).

The teams also drew a genre out of a hat at the start of that weekend of madness in May. Categories included fad movie (yes, lots of planking, none made the final cut), one-room, crime, road, revenge, mystery, musical/dance and horror.

Read the full article here.

National Theatre Live - The Cherry Orchard

by Anton Chekov
a version by Andrew Upton
OPENING IN CINEMAS 21 July

Presented by the National Theatre of London's second season, Anton Chekov's play The Cherry Orchard will be shown on cinema screens as a live recording direct from the London stage. Screenings are limited and will be listed on Flicks.

"Ranyevskaya returns more or less bankrupt after ten years abroad. Luxuriating in her fading moneyed world and regardless of the increasingly hostile forces outside, she and her brother snub the lucrative scheme of Lopakhin, a peasant turned entrepreneur, to save the family estate. In so doing, they put their lives to auction and seal the fate of the beloved orchard.

Set at the very start of the twentieth century, The Cherry Orchard captures a poignant moment in Russia's history as the country rolls inexorably towards 1917. This spirited new version of Chekov's last play follows Andrew Upton's acclaimed adaptations of Philistines and The White Guard." - NT Live

for more information visit the National Theatre Live website.

NZ entrepeneur lends Apollo 13 a helping hand

Taken from NZ Herald, by Frances Morton.

A New Zealand entrepreneur is going from walking with dinosaurs to space walking with Kiwis.

Bruce Mactaggart brought prehistoric creatures to life with the hugely successful arena show Walking with Dinosaurs, an adaptation of the BBC television series of the same name.

Now he is teaming up with the local creators of Apollo 13: Mission Control to blast the hit play on to the global market.

Walking with Dinosaurs opens on Wednesday at Vector Arena. Auckland is the last stop of a three-year world tour.

Mactaggart said he wanted to use his experience and connections from presenting the multi-million dollar production to opening up international opportunities for Kiwi talent.

Apollo 13: Mission Control's previous season featured Auckland Actors' Sam Berkley. Read the full article here.

NZ Herald - V48 Hours short films

Taken from NZ Herald.

In the build up to the V48 Hours Grand Final the NZ Herald is showing a short a day from the competition archives.

Watch Brown Peril: The Tim Porch Story featuring Auckland Actors' Josh Thomson. Brown Peril: The Tim Porch Story by The Downlowconcept was the Grand National Winner in 2006.

Watch Only Son featuring Auckland Actors' Josh Thomson, Elizabeth McGlinn and Andrew Munro. Only Son by The Downlowconcept was the Grand National Winner in 2010.

Stuff's short film festival: Roof Rattling

Taken from Stuff, by Kirsty Johnson.

This week's short film, Roof Rattling (watch it here), follows James and his two friends who break into an eccentric old man's house while searching for his fabled dirty magazine collection.

Written and directed by James Blick, this sensitive short film depicts the boys' intrusion as just one more trial for the old man (played by Grant Tilly) as he copes with loss and loneliness.

Blick says the film explores themes of growing-up, particularly children as they develop their sense of self.

"We are a magnet and a sponge for influence and experience. And we all have moments and experiences in our childhood that remain within out consciousness for the rest of our lives.

"It's these experiences that are significant building blocks of the adults we become."

Roof Rattling is the 11th film to be hosted on Stuff during its short film season.

The first was Six Dollar Fifty Man, second Poppy, third Only Son, fourth Amadi, fifth Careful with that Crossbow, sixth This Film is a Dog, seventh Infection, eighth Day Trip, ninth Two Cars, One Night, and the tenth Warbrick.

Stuff's short film festival is produced in conjunction with the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Screen.

NZ International Film Festival line up announced

Taken from NZFF.

The 2011 New Zealand International Film Festival programme is shaping up to be another great selection of the finest in film from around the world.

The full Auckland programme is now online, with the Wellington programme launching on June 30, and other regions to follow.

This year's haul of films direct from Cannes is the Festival's best and biggest ever, including Palme d'Or winner The Tree of Life.

Jonathan Hodge - Short+Sweet

Taken from The Big Idea, by Renee Liang.

Last year, Short+Sweet hit Auckland for the first time. This year, the festival of 10 minute plays promises an even juicier feast of dramatic writing and parading thespians.

Festival director Jonathan Hodge talks to Renee Liang about what's involved in putting on 40 plays in two weeks.

"The thing that gets me is the huge variety and the fact that if something is not to your taste ... the next play is only nine minutes away!"

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For those unfamiliar with the concept Short+Sweet, it's a festival of 10 minute plays - not extracts, but each a complete play in itself. Because of the number of plays performed, there's a huge variety of styles, and large numbers of actors, writers, directors and production crew take part. For those new to the game, it's an ideal way of testing out their suitability for theatre and work with more experienced people.

The concept started in Australia and has now spread to a number of countries, becoming in the process "the largest festival of ten-minute plays in the world." There's an international flavour to the event - many of the plays are by overseas writers - but in the Auckland version, there's also an emphasis on showcasing home grown work.

Jonathan Hodge talks about the upcoming Shot+Sweet Auckland.

How did you get involved with Short+Sweet?
In early 2009 I was contacted by Sally Barnett from STAMP who told me that S+S Australia were looking for someone to run a iteration of the Festival here in Auckland. At that stage I knew little or nothing about S+S but it sounded like an interesting idea.

So I signed on and went on the journey to creating the first iteration in Jan 2010. I was mentored by Alex Broun who had run a lot of festivals in Aussie and while it took a while I finally figured out how it all worked.

This time around it's just me (with my awesome production team) flying solo and really trying to take the tried and true system and make it work for us here in Auckland. It's funny but it is much more than it looks. Ten minute plays are Short+Sweet but running the festival is much more complex. It's fun though!

Why did you want to bring it to Auckland?
I see Short+Sweet as primarily a development exercise, for practitioners and audience alike. I think it's needed for the burgeoning Auckland theatre community.

The short film has long been recognised as a calling card for new directors, a way to get noticed and a play to try new ideas. I see S+S as much the same for the theatre. Experienced directors can experiment with a different form in a supportive environment, experienced actors can try their hand at directing and practitioners with little or no experience get a chance to have a go where people can see them work.

Also with the people's choice component we ask audiences to tell us what their favourite play of each session was. This means that they have to consider what they've watched, discuss, debate and make judgements. I think this is great because in order to develop a robust scene we also need good audiences who think about the work. Intelligent audiences make room for more fringe and cutting edge theatre and like any field the edges are where the new ground is broken and the future created.

Who's been instrumental in making it happen?
Short+Sweet Auckland would never have happened at all without the S+S parent body in Australia. Despite a healthy (and very Australian) desire to take over the world with short plays, S+S Australia is not a well resourced, massice conglomerate. Their support has cost them time and money and is essentially an act of charity.

Sally Barnett and the STAMP crew at The EDGE are also essential. The festival would not be viable without their support. Venues, marketing, expertise and mentoring (which I am most grateful for) are just the thin end of the wedge. STAMP is supported by the Auckland Council, who have also directly invested in the future of S+S Auckland this year.In the first festival we would not have even had enough plays without the help and contacts of The Oryza Foundation for The Performing Arts. Then there is the support of Playmarket this year who are helping us reward a NZ playwright and contributing to the judging of the festival.

My production team consists of Sums Selvarajan (Stage Manager) with her team of helpers and Michael Craven (lighting designer). But most important of all are the participants who make up the plays – without them there is no festival.

Read the full article here.