ASPIRING CONVERSATIONS AT THE FESTIVAL OF COLOUR

The environment, underwear and war are just some of the topics that make up the 2009 Festival of Colour’s new Aspiring Conversations, a programme of ideas, discussion and debate.

The daytime Aspiring Conversations programme opens on Wednesday 29 April with two sessions by renowned American environmentalist, Bill McKibben focusing on the impacts of global warning and how society may have to deal with it in the future. He is joined by New Zealand writer Gareth Renowden, author of Hot Topic which addresses climate change in New Zealand.

Joe Bennett is well known for his funny and insightful writing. During his session, “Where underpants come from”, he will tell the story of how he traced a five-pack of budget underpants to their source via the smoggy bustle of Shanghai to the remote cotton fields of Xinjiang Province. Along the way he discovered the history underlying the Chinese economic renaissance, as well as grappled with his own prejudices and marveled at the contrasts of one of the world’s oldest, but fastest changing, societies.

Award-winning poet and rural GP, Glenn Colquhoun, will discuss how medicine and poetry both ‘revolve around other people’s stories’ in his session “The poet’s eye”. He won the 2004 Prize in Modern Letters as well as two prizes in the 2003 Montana Book Awards – best poetry book and readers’ choice for his collection Playing God.

From the tranquility of poetry to the harshness of war – 2007 Foreign Correspondent of the Year Christina Lamb will enthrall audiences in her two sessions. The first will focus on the troubled countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Zimbabwe and her first hand experiences of them. The second will discuss the business of war reporting and how it has changed in her 20 years on the front line.

Aspiring Conversations closes Sunday 3 May with the focus on art. Hamish Keith and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Christopher Finlayson, discuss ‘What use is art?’, addressing the value of art and the arts in New Zealand, especially in this time of economic difficulty. This is followed by ‘Artists at work’ during which the festival’s four resident artists, Simon Kaan, Areta Wilkinson, Michel Tuffery and Martin Hill talk about the exploration and discovery of pouwhenua (markers on the land).

The Festival of Colour takes place on 28 April to 3 May 2009 and is generously supported by Central Lakes Trust, The Community Trust of Otago, Creative New Zealand, Infinity Investment Group, Queenstown Lakes District Council and Aurora. For further information and ticket sales visit www.festivalofcolour.co.nz