Comedy, drama, thrilling colour and thought-provoking entertainment will ensure the 28th Nelson Arts Festival is one to remember. Oh, and the big chunk of ice suspended above Port Nelson. Judene Edgar finds out more.
Festivals are a creative melting pot of creativity, culture, and talent, connecting makers with their audience in unique and unexpected ways and after two years of disruptions, the Nelson Arts Festival is back and tackling the ongoing impacts of Covid head-on with over 200 artists bringing to life 58 unique events over eleven days.
Artistic director Lydia Zanetti says that the arts help us celebrate as a community, be empathetic to other people’s experiences, and connect across distances. “Nelson Arts Festival hopes to respond to this moment, with all its joys and sorrows, challenges and opportunities. In such uncertain times, we look to create a festival which can help us focus on the most important things in life - and be okay sitting with inevitable change.”
Audiences will be enthralled by the unmissable experiences that can be found in the most unexpected of places. Everything from exhibitions to performances, workshops, parties, discussions, rituals, residencies and unforgettable experiences will take over halls, theatres, galleries, heritage sites, Kōhanga Reo, and digital platforms across Whakatū.
The New Zealand premiere of THAW, presented by globally-renowned physical theatre company Legs On The Wall, takes place high above Nelson harbour, on 2.7 tonnes of ice suspended by a crane. Created by Australian Joshua Thomson, to an original score by Alaska's Matthew Burtner, an interesting collaboration between the hottest and coldest continents, this outdoor epic brings death-defying beauty to the climate crisis.
“I’ve always been an environmentalist and Australia’s apocalyptic Black Summer bushfires really affected me. I donated, but I wanted to use my talents to say something,” says Joshua. So, he embarked on a three-year quest to create an analogy of the natural habitat slowly reducing. After much trial and error, and some amazing engineering, what started as small squares of ice grew to giant skip bin size blocks of ice, and eventually became a 2.7 tonne frozen gem to represent the beauty of the natural environment.
Over eight hours, three dancers struggle for balance on the ice as it dangles high above the harbour, slowly but surely melting underneath them. Joshua says that it hangs over water as it speaks to rising sea levels and that, importantly, it also speaks to time, as climate change is very tied to time and has a very real sense of urgency about it. “These people rely on this thing, but it’s eroding literally under their feet. As humans we exist in a bubble of time, yet the planet is durational, so we don’t often get the perspective of change.” Suspended high up in the air also helps to give the feeling of isolation and desolation that we can all feel in trying to deal with climate change, but “this problem is shared and we should all have a voice.”
He says that everyone experiences the work in different ways. While he’s always woven environmental messages through his works, he says it’s never been so much at the forefront. “This show is different as it borders on activism and can feel like a peaceful protest. Art is activism – it challenges in the right way, but it’s up to people to take from it what they want. It’s not about guilting people; it’s about taking steps and problem-solving.” Ultimately, Joshua says, it’s about raising awareness while providing a spectacular metaphor as an artful call to action. Whipping up a frenzy at its inaugural outing at the Sydney Festival in January, Joshua is delighted to be bringing his confrontational yet inspirational piece to Nelson.
Another artist motivated and inspired by adversity is Audrey Baldwin. Audrey says that the Christchurch earthquakes galvanised her love of Christchurch, and that she was determined to stay and support people by making art more publicly accessible. “For me, art is healing. It’s essential all the time but shines especially when people are hurting.”
The isolation and lack of connectivity that was felt throughout Covid lockdowns inspired Audrey to create Art Chemist. “I wanted to create something interactive that was familiar but new. Everyone understands going to the chemist and getting a prescription.” However, instead of receiving a prescription for pain relievers, sedatives, or stimulants, after a 5 – 15-minute one-on-one consultation, you’ll come away with an art prescription – to look at a painting, read some poetry, or immerse yourself in a performance – that meets your well-being needs. “It’s as light-hearted or as personal as people like. I hope to encourage people to participate in the arts and see the value in them beyond aesthetics as a tool for well-being, connection and contemplation. Art is a lifeline for so many people.”
Inspired by the Arts Festival programme and the rich arts offerings available in Nelson, Audrey and her team of chemists create unique prescriptions for each person, couple or group to engage with local art/events. “One of my favourite things is connecting people with cool stuff. It’s all done with humour and gentleness, so hopefully people will be encouraged to go outside of their comfort zones and think about something differently.”
Located in Kiss Me (near Kismet on Hardy Street), Art Chemist will be set up like a chemist shop with pill bottles with prescriptions inside them enabling ‘patients’ to pick over-the-counter or bespoke prescription medications. Supporting Audrey’s goal to make art more accessible, Art Chemist is one of many free offerings of the Arts Festival.
Another free event is Whispers in the Streets, which will be bringing the central city streets to life with music and visual art. A collaboration of over 30 NMIT students, Whispers in the Streets is their expressive responses to the question of ‘what it means to be a young person in Whakatū in these uncertain times.’ Tutors Klaasz Breukel and Doug Stenhouse have been working with the students to help them fill the streets with “a real surprise of sights and sounds”, says Klaasz. “It’s important for students to get opportunities to connect with the arts and with communities.” His arts and design students will be taking over the Billsticker bollards with drawings, photography, paintings, collages – “the sky’s the limit.”
Doug’s music students are also busy devising and composing a series of pop-up projects throughout the city centre. “This is super creative. They get to make use of different instruments, different forms of synthesis, different techniques. They really get to explore their creative juices.” Using a mix of traditional, non-traditional and modern instruments, the students get the opportunity to connect, and express their thoughts and feelings, with bespoke pieces with the Arts Festival audience in mind.
In a first for a major arts festival in Aotearoa, the festival is offering a ‘Pay what you can’ ticketing model across all fee-paying events. There will be a low recommended ticket price, for those whom price is a barrier, as well as a range of other prices for people who are more able to support the arts. “This will open the door a little wider, allowing more people to experience and support the arts and artists, and to connect as a community,” says Lydia.
From flying icebergs to art prescriptions, boxing ring poetry slams, Pasifika cabaret/dance extravaganzas to Ukrainian pop musos, night-time adventures and celebrations of our mask culture, the Nelson Arts Festival is bringing life to our streets, halls, cafés and digital platforms from 20 to 30 October. For more information go to nelsonartsfestival.nz.
