The Depot’s ArtsLab workshops are designed for creative people seeking to develop their arts practice and generate income.

Artists across all disciplines have frequently inquired where they might find professional work and practice development workshops designed from a creative and not just business perspective.  The Depot has discovered that artists want to develop skills in subjects like networking through social media, book keeping tax and GST, goal setting and presentation, but they want to do this in an environment that respects and approaches these subjects from a creative perspective.  The Depot has developed a series of workshops through its ArtsLab programme at Kerr Street Artspace, Devonport, that are designed for creative people seeking to develop their arts practice and generate income.  Scheduled workshops you are invited to are:

From Vision to Viability – Creative Practitioners Two Day Workshop – 30 -31 May  ($80)
An interactive workshop to provide you with tools to establish and maintain your creative vision, set realistic and achievable goals, manage barriers to goal achievement, management yourself within time constraints  and speaking confidently about your arts practice.

New Media and Legal Issues One Day Seminar – 13^th June ($30)
Lewis Bostock provides practical tools and examples on how to use social media to network and expand your client base and promote your work. Advice and answers to your questions on issues of copyright and privacy by an arts lawyer David McLaughlan.

Job Search and Interview Skills – 6^th June ($30)

A practical workshop on preparing your CV, portfolio and cover letter as well as interview training which will increase the possibility of gaining that elusive interview and ultimately empower you in the job application process. Tips on finding jobs where no one else looks and how to get your ‘head above the crowd’ to secure an interview.

ArtsLab workshops and seminars are held at Kerr Street Artspace, Devonport, Auckland.

To find out more about ArtsLab or to register your attendance please contact Lynn Lawton at pace@depotartspace.co.nz or (09) 9632328.

All Arts Lab seminars & workshops take place at Kerr St Artspace, Devonport

To find out more about Arts Lab workshops or to register your attendance please contact Lynn Lawton:
lynn.lawton@depotartspace.co.nz
PH:  09 963 2328

From Vision to Viability – Creative Practitioners Two Day Workshop – 30 -31 May  ($80)

An interactive workshop to provide you with tools to establish and maintain your creative vision, set realistic and achievable goals, manage barriers to goal achievement, management yourself within time constraints  and speaking confidently about your arts practice.

New Media and Legal Issues One Day Seminar – 13^th June ($30)
Lewis Bostock provides practical tools and examples on how to use social media to network and expand your client base and promote your work. Advice and answers to your questions on issues of copyright and privacy by an arts lawyer David McLaughlan.

Job Search and Interview Skills – 6^th June ($30)

A practical workshop on preparing your CV, portfolio and cover letter as well as interview training which will increase the possibility of gaining that elusive interview and ultimately empower you in the job application process. Tips on finding jobs where no one else looks and how to get your ‘head above the crowd’ to secure an interview.

ArtsLab workshops and seminars are held at Kerr Street Artspace, Devonport, Auckland.

To find out more about ArtsLab or to register your attendance please contact Lynn Lawton at pace@depotartspace.co.nz or (09) 9632328.

Arts Lab Workshops & Seminars
The Depot
28 Clarence St
Devonport, AUCKLAND
Ph:  09 9632328

Robyn Gibson: Art on the Street

Robyn Gibson’s colourful sculptural installation event Art on the Street hits Devonport during Art Week Auckland.

The event aims to bring art out into the open, making it accessible and showing how art can enhance our environment. Art does not have to be in a gallery to be appreciated, and art interacting with its environment can throw a new light on each.  Art on the Street is an initiative by Robyn Gibson and The Depot, Devonport.

Here Robyn answers a few questions about Art on the Street:

How did the idea for ‘Art on the Street’ formulate and how did you make it happen?
My friend Linda Blincko (Creative Director of The Depot) and I have often talked about placing art into our immediate environment to encourage discovery and provoke art awareness and we decided to create the opportunity to make this happen during Art week Auckland.

Art on the Street is a developing and rather whimsical artistic genre for me personally but it has been explored by artists for many years. The historical placement of solid bronze or marble sculpture is a traditional and everlasting ideology but I have often thought of soft sculpture as a more interactive medium within our environment. Soft forms or works with paper and cardboard can be playful, they are not made to last but merely to intrigue, surprise and entertain.

Outdoor objects or surfaces often lend themselves to art installation such as an extended tree branch or the side of a building; using these as a foundation for soft fabric attachments and added foreign texture can make a bizarre and wacky contrast between nature and man-made placements.

What can people expect to discover in Devonport over the ‘Art on the Street’ week?
There will be several pockets of street art-works in the Devonport Village. Outside the local library tall date palms will be swathed in colour and fabric, while in the Windsor Reserve you will come across a free standing sculpture made of 10 decorated crazy legs, a colourful display in pohutakawa trees, on footpaths and hanging from beams.  In the Ferry Terminal entrance there will be another array of colour and texture. If travelling on the ferry coming into Devonport or from the waterfront you will have a big surprise looking at you from the side of Mt Victoria. There will be fun trees outside The Depot and an array of small objects to be spotted along the way.

Are the installations permanent?
The installations are not permanent.

Will there be more ‘Art on the Street’ events?  If so, how can people get involved?
We hope this street art production will entertain the community, leave visitors with a lasting impression of our urban arts village Devonport and encourage others to participate in future events.

There are often a number of issues to consider in making street art, the most important is ensuring the safety of all involved and as long as this is well-thought out we can get on with the general concept of having fun!  If you would like to participate in future events or just have an idea you may like to get off the ground please contact The Depot 09  9632331 or Robyn Gibson. 0210538521.

We are offering a new position of Gallery Manager to a person who is passionate about arts management and administration with a good understanding of the visual arts.

The Gallery Manager will be part of a small dynamic Depot team, working closely with both emerging and established artists, initiating exhibitions and programmes that allow for participation of the wider arts community and its audience.

This is a permanent full-time position and encompasses all aspects of gallery administration and management to deliver an exciting programme of exhibition and events.  It has a strong service focus, requires great organisational skills and at the same time allows for initiative and innovation.

The position offers great scope for someone to make a real difference for the arts in a changing environment.

The Gallery Manager will have an appreciation for and a general knowledge of NZ contemporary visual arts and a strong service background.

Qualities and skills required for the position:

• warm, engaging and able to provide a high level of customer service
• excellent communication and developed interpersonal skills
• high level of organisation and administration
• able to work collaboratively and independently
• adaptable
• ability to display sound judgement and show initiative
• competent in Microsoft suite of programmes and web savvy
• flexible approach to work schedule to meet varying requirements of exhibitions and events
• previous service and/or management experience is an advantage

Closing date: Friday, 30 September 2011

ART Venture 2012 Expressions of Interest close 23 September 2011.

ART Venture, a unique acceleration programme for creative, entrepreneurial people and producers working in the arts and creative industries in Auckland, is on the lookout for candidates for its 2012 programme. Successful candidates will be awarded a place on the programme, worth $35,000, to be announced at the awards launch in early 2012.

The year-long programme provides start-up and experienced creative entrepreneurs with a flexible yet intensive action-learning environment that, through peer-to-peer support, specialist coaching, and customised content accelerates the creative, professional and enterprise development of each participant.

It’s tempting when times get tough to bury your head in the sand and hope for the best. So can Kiwi creatives afford to do that, or will they go the way of the moa? That’s the challenge presented at this year’s Survive & Thrive: Fuelling the Business of creativity event on the 14th of July. MC for Survive & Thrive 2011, and rather a creative guy himself, Te Radar says “The mixing of creativity and business to make a creative business is more complex than simply hoping she’ll be right. Sometimes she isn’t. ”

Held at The University of Auckland Business School, and now in its third year, Survive & Thrive 2011 includes a programme of inspiring speakers, intensive workshops and networking, and is all about helping creative, entrepreneurial people succeed. Candy Elsmore, Project Director from Arts Regional Trust, says building a business out of what you are passionate about can have its challenges : “It takes creativity, thinking and sheer hard work. It can mean looking at new ways of doing business, exploring new opportunities, getting new skills and making meaningful connections. Survive & Thrive is our way of enabling this to happen.”

At Survive & Thrive 2011 participants will speed network [the business version of speed dating] to make valuable contacts in a flash, as well as gain practical tips and tools from specialist advisors who will a sounding board for brilliant ideas and sticky problems. With a full programme of 10 workshops participants can explore their how to create more sales, tune into the marketing and promotion of what they are doing, undertake a ‘health check’ of their creative business, and learn how to self-manage for success.

If that isn’t enough an expo of innovative events, organisations and services means creatives can connect people and groups can help them on their mission to survive and thrive in today’s environment.

You’d be mad to miss it!

Release date:

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Further information:

More Information:

Arts Regional Trust Te Taumata Toi-a-iwi (ART)

It’s tempting when times get tough to bury your head in the sand and hope for the best. So can Kiwi creatives afford to do that, or will they go the way of the moa? That’s the challenge presented at this year’s Survive & Thrive: Fuelling the Business of creativity event on the 14th of July. MC for Survive & Thrive 2011, and rather a creative guy himself, Te Radar says “The mixing of creativity and business to make a creative business is more complex than simply hoping she’ll be right. Sometimes she isn’t. ”

Held at The University of Auckland Business School, and now in its third year, Survive & Thrive 2011 includes a programme of inspiring speakers, intensive workshops and networking, and is all about helping creative, entrepreneurial people succeed. Candy Elsmore, Project Director from Arts Regional Trust, says building a business out of what you are passionate about can have its challenges : “It takes creativity, thinking and sheer hard work. It can mean looking at new ways of doing business, exploring new opportunities, getting new skills and making meaningful connections. Survive & Thrive is our way of enabling this to happen.”

At Survive & Thrive 2011 participants will speed network [the business version of speed dating] to make valuable contacts in a flash, as well as gain practical tips and tools from specialist advisors who will a sounding board for brilliant ideas and sticky problems. With a full programme of 10 workshops participants can explore their how to create more sales, tune into the marketing and promotion of what they are doing, undertake a ‘health check’ of their creative business, and learn how to self-manage for success.

If that isn’t enough an expo of innovative events, organisations and services means creatives can connect people and groups can help them on their mission to survive and thrive in today’s environment.

You’d be mad to miss it!

Release date:

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Further information:

More Information:

Arts Regional Trust Te Taumata Toi-a-iwi (ART)

2011 Cultural Icons & Vernacular Lounge Non-fiction Writing Competition
Judged by: Graham Beattie, Federico Monsalve, Linda Blincko
Prizes include:  Creative Hub Writing Course, Random House book package, publication in MORPH magazine, recorded on Jam Radio.

“Vernacular:  Belonging in place, knowing your own stories, realising your own potential. Being yourself rather than trying to be someone else”
Tony Watkins

“In the imported soil of language and tradition, but in new sunshine, wind, and rain, we must grow our own prose and poetry”
Alan Mulgan

“What is ‘New Zealand identity’? How do we express ourselves through these particular cultural activities which are after all, universal?”

Ian Wedde

Cultural Icons & the Vernacular Lounge are accepting entries for ‘Iconic Encounters of a Vernacular Kind’ a non-fiction narrative competition on the topic of New Zealand’s distinctive local culture through its everyday icons.

Whether you write from Ponsonby, Mt Victoria, Lyttleton or the Bluff there are entities and phenomena unique to your community.  The focus of your entry could be an iconic person, building, event, activity, object or feature of the landscape or built environment, which embodies or elicits a sense of place or identity.

The aims are to gain an insight into the characteristics that contribute to a local vernacular* and to unearth some of its many tales.

The winning entries will be judged on quality and originality of the writing, clarity of expression, uniqueness of the subject, and most of all, on how your subject depicts identity or community.

For ore information please visit:  www.culturalicons.co.nz or www.depotartspace.co.nz

Deadline: 4pm 1st of September 2011

The Non-Fiction Narrative Writing Competition ‘Iconic Encounters of the Vernacular Kind’, Satellite Gallery and the Vernacular Lounge, Morph and Cultural Icons are initiatives of The Depot.

Submitting to the Auckland Unleashed discussion document
You can submit your comments using email, an online submission form or by post. However you do it, your comments need to be received by 4pm on Tuesday, 31 May 2011.

Background
The ‘Auckland Unleashed’ discussion document sets out ideas and initial proposals for feedback to help prepare the draft Auckland Plan (also referred to as the Spatial Plan). It is open to anyone to provide comments, which will be considered during the formulation of the draft Plan.

The ‘Towards an Auckland Advisory Group’ Working Group is facilitating the formation of, on behalf of the wider the arts and culture sector, a wider group that seeks to connect the sector and be an issues-based voice for communication within and beyond the sector.

We think that arts and culture play an essential role in the development of our city region. We urge people involved and interested in the development of arts and culture in Auckland to submit their feedback to the Auckland Unleashed discussion document. We have prepared a summary reading of the Auckland Unleashed discussion document from an arts perspective (available on The Big Idea), as well as a submission guide (below).

See more about the submission process and related FAQs here.
Online submission form here

Email submission here:
theaucklandplan@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Post submission here (no need for a stamp):
Freepost Authority 237170 Auckland Council The Auckland Plan Private Bag 92300 Auckland 1142

The process for getting to the Auckland Plan

The Auckland Unleashed document is the first step in the formulation of the Auckland Plan. The Draft Auckland Plan will follow, and submissions /feedback will be sought following the release of the draft Auckland Plan in June/July 2011.

The Auckland Plan will be adopted in December 2011. More information here.

We are aware that many areas of Auckland Council are now formulating strategic frameworks (Economic development, arts & culture, heritage…) which will be part of the draft Auckland Plan.  It is therefore essential that our sector is active with our feedback now through the Auckland Unleashed discussion document and other feedback opportunities that become available.

Under the new regional governance structure, many arts and cultural activities are delivered through the CCOs (principally the Auckland Tourism, Economic Development and Events CCO, and the Regional Facilities Auckland CCO ) and the Local Boards. The Statements of Intent put forward annually to Auckland Council by the CCOs will need work in alignment with and deliver on the strategies contained in the Auckland Plan and subsequent long term council community plan (LTCCP) and annual plans.

When submitting to Auckland Unleashed, we urge people to consider not only ‘hard infrastructure’ (buildings, places, land etc) but also ‘soft infrastructure’ (policies, values, people, programmes, communities).

Feedback / submission process:

The Auckland Unleashed discussion document has a list of 11 questions for submitters to offer feedback on. The questions are listed on the attached pdf, along with the working group’s suggestions /guidelines for points that you may like to cover. These are not exhaustive and you / your organisations will of course have other, perhaps more specific, feedback which you should of course also include.

You may also choose to agree/comment on/expand on the strategic priorities identified in the discussion document. Those which reference the arts/culture/creative sector /creative industries are summarised on pages 5 to 10 of “Auckland Unleashed:  The Auckland Plan discussion document – Summary for the Arts Sector” by Elise Sterback

To down load the full document including the questions: Auckland Unleashed Discussion Document Submission Guidelines for arts sector final.

To read ‘An Arts Relevant Summary of ‘Auckland Unleashed’ .

Date and venue which is confirmed for Monday 16 May, 1 to 4 pm, Pioneer Women’s /Ellen Melville Hall (venue information: http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/services/venues/pioneer.asp ) Thanks to Auckland Council for making available the venue for the workshop.

Once again we ask you to do three things:

• Firstly, let us know if you are coming by return email to: maggie@artistsalliance.org.nz
• Secondly, forward this email to key people in your network who you think should be there. We have a growing email database but we know it is not exhaustive.
• Thirdly, the workshop will be a busy working session and we won’t have much time to recap on past findings and feedback, so please read the notes from the previous workshop (attached), especially if you were unable to come to that workshop.

You can see the notes and findings from March’s workshop here:

Models – responses from workshop 2

Towards an Auckland Arts Advisory – Workshop 2 – Summary, Apr 2011