infonews.co.nz
INDEX
ART

Open Studio Weekend 2013

Thursday 21 February 2013, 2:39PM

By Corban Estate Arts Centre

595 views

AUCKLAND

Open Studio Weekend 2013:
Arts and energy at Corban Estate
Saturday 23 & Sunday 24 March 2013, 10am - 4pm

A live weekend of free arts activities at Corban Estate Arts Centre

On its 9th year, Open Studio Weekend has become the foremost and fast-growing arts event at Corban Estate Arts Centre, offering art lovers a holistic and immersive experience of varied art forms and expressions. With twenty open onsite artists’ studios, contemporary art exhibitions, dynamic performing arts groups, Pacifica arts and culture, a brand new Coffee Studio café, a gallery shop and much more, Corban Estate Arts Centre has become a hub for the thriving arts in West Auckland.

Twenty artists will be opening their studio doors to welcome visitors and share the ideas behind their artworks. These artists include many newly established ones such as marble sculptor, Martin Selman, and queen of brightly coloured mixed media quirky characters Beck Wheeler. All artists now resident at Corban Estate will have work featured in the exhibition, Neighbourhood, installed just for the weekend. This year’s Open Studio Weekend offers more variety in mediums to see ranging from painting, mixed media, printmaking, greenstone carving, and other art forms.  In the Galleries you can visit exhibitions by leading Pacific artist, Philipe Tohi; new work by Jason Hall, creator of the Picket bridges that from the gateways at both ends of Henderson Main Street; and images of enigmatic constructions in landscapes by Kate Woods.   Other art works displayed on site this weekend are included in exhibitions by artists from Waitakere Central Community Arts Council and Waitakere College Secondary students.

One of the newest additions to the event is a full programme of vibrant stage shows by leading performing arts companies, such as the Maori contemporary dance company Atamira, Phoenix NZ Young Performers and Mixit youth arts project. Atamira’s professional performances continuously receive high praise and display its edgy and unconventional spirit. Phoenix injects its youth energy to the event with Fresh Movement, a newly established street dance group; while on the other hand captivates the audience with the strong and emotive play Blood in water, performed by talented up and coming actors and musicians. Representing the emerging film aspect of Phoenix is a 15 minute film The contender, directed and produced by Chris Peters when he was aged 16 and his 15 year old brother. Mixit also showcases the dynamic skills of young migrant and local artists.

Part of this enriching arts experience is the must-see Pacifica Arts Centre, where visitors will be in close contact with Pacific artists, learn the traditional arts and crafts from the Pacifica Mamas and enjoy the diversity of the Pacific arts expressed through traditional visual arts.

Anytime when visitors just feel like relaxing, there’s the newly opened Coffee Studio Café where they can taste the perfect cup of Kokako coffee or a hot chocolate and enjoy freshly made lunches and snacks from our chef.   Its right next door to the galleries and the gallery shop, where the public can see and buy a range of finely crafted work by some of New Zealand’s leading craft artists. 

As part of this experience, participants can also drop into free workshops and try their hand at a junk art sculpture, a cultural mask, a fabric creature or paint native flora. Additionally, they can see international graffiti artists from TMD (The Most Dedicated) do their magic with spray-cans on the Corbans Wall. 

Open Studio Weekend promises to be an exceptional event, full of fresh and established talent, arts and cultural activities, relaxing spaces and the enjoyable scenery of the historic Corban Winery. This event will be held at Corban Estate Arts Centre in Henderson, Auckland over Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of March 2013. Find more information on: www.ceac.org.nz

--- ends ---

To find out more about Open Studio Weekend 2013 and Corban Estate Arts Centre’s ongoing activities, programmes and events visit: www.ceac.org.nz. A full Open Studio Weekend programme will be available on our website from early March.