Artweek Auckland
For The Love of Bees Artweek Event History 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Victoria Park Pasture Painting Artweek celebrations through artist and beekeeper talks 5th - 14th November 2021
Our long running Pasture Painting at Victoria Park has been redesigned by emerging artist Brunelle Dias, who will lead this project for a year. For The Love Of Bees use Pasture Paintings as a no-till, geometric planting system that quickly contributes to the millions of flowers each honeybee colony needs each year to survive. Pasture Paintings develop living soil biology to sequester carbon, demonstrating what a city safe for bees and people can look like.
Brunelle’s concept utilises a Venn diagram representing difference, connection and interdependence, a symbol for life beyond an ecological reading. From process to aesthetic this painting embodies collaboration and is as much about diversifying foliage and foraging habitat in the park, as including the facilitatory role humans can play in regeneration. ‘ Everything is inextricably linked to each other, regardless of our differences. It's like a love letter to the earth, including the plants, the pollinators, humans and everything existing within the environment.’
For Artweek we made three short artist and beekeeper conversations, you can listen to them below
Artist and FTLOB vision holder Sarah Smuts-Kennedy: on collective action, participation and partnership, building on frameworks from social sculpture and earthworks and a view of ecosystem wellbeing through the lens of a bee.
Emerging artist Brunelle Dias speaks about her experience of making and maintaining a pasture painting in a public space and moving from an indoor studio practice to an outdoor immersive experience.
Comvita Beekeeper Noe Waters: shares with us her favourite bee discovery facts that bring us closer to the amazing, organised and collective world of bees.
Rewilding the CBD during Artweek 12th – 20th October 2019
Artist Sarah Smuts-Kennedy and vision holder of For The Love Of Bees screened sometimes just touching the earth is enough for one hour a day from 12-1pm during art week in multiple spaces throughout the CBD. In the first 6 months of 2019 the For the Love of Bees community at OMG farm sequestered over 10 tonnes of carbon via photosynthesis and composting on a 700 square meter site. This new film work conceptually brings nature back into the heart of the CBD, our place which we will rewild together in the coming years as we begin our journey to mitigate climate change. It was screened in Aotea Square, AUT and shopfronts throughout the CBD. The film, portrait of Auckland’s urban farm OMG-Organic Market Garden located in the centre of Auckland city is a love letter to the potential of a “garden” to heal. Sarah’s films are moving meditations exploring the limitations of the camera lens to journey into space between the fragile planes of representation and abstraction and the complicated and mysterious boundary where light shifts from the metaphysical to inhabit the material world we experience as REAL.
You can watch sometimes just touching the earth is enough here.
Flower Power Workshops & Posters Series Artweek 6-14th October 2018
We teamed up with participants and creative collaborators for this workshop and poster series focusing on transforming our cities into safer places for us all. Two workshops were held in Mojo Cafe Wellesley Street and Highwic 1892 facilitated by FTLOB collaborators @cloudworkshopnz and @godmother_projects with the help of @levi.brinsdonhall. The posters were made by the incredible children and team at @cloudworkshopnz and members of the public with the support of @philipakelly @godmother_projects @samhartnett These posters were seen around Auckland city for Artweek 2018 with thanks to @0800phantom.Thanks for coming and thanks for Beeing part of this adventure with us. Thanks for helping us remind people that a city safe for bees is a city full of flowers. We think it’s awesome. Here’s to #citybeecollaboration #abillionflowersforbees #flowerpower #foodforbees #beecomethechangenz #citysafeforpollinators #citysafeforbees #citysafeforbiologicalsystems #everyonecanmakeadifference
Mauri Toi - the Life of Art, Artweek October 7th-10th 2017
Awhina Mai Tatou Katoa, will participate in FTLOB’s first three day artist residency for Artweek with the support of Activate Auckland. Awhina Mai Tatou Katoa are a collective set up to provide opportunities for the homeless and recently housed to come together and make art and reconnect with their culture. Over Artweek they will and bring their carving collective to Griffiths Gardens and share their work with us. From 10.30-3pm Awhina Mai Tatou Katoa will be doing Whakairo ( carving) at Griffiths Gardens. From 11-2 Jacqui Pako will do Harakeke and Poi making and all day there will be Toi (a creative space and kids zone ) for the Whanau to join in. Kiwi harvest and everybody eats are helping with Kai. On the evening of the 10th we will gather again for Kai and and Korero where Awhina Mai Tatou Katoa will talk about their work with and in the community.
The late night will be an evening of song, food and sharing. The Auckland Street Choir will perform while we enjoy soup, fruit and Everybody Eats amazing banana cake. Most of all we are thrilled to have Awhina Mai Tatou Katou and their carving mentor Tom Ropata and crew with us to talk about the work they have been doing.
We are really looking forward to the next stage in our collaboration which involves the creation of a Rongoa garden. Awatea Hawke will lead this project alongside Awhina Mai Tatou Katou. We will once again get to see whakairo being done in the inner city as Tom Ropata and his crew work again with this collective to make Pou for this Rongoa Garden.
See the developments of the Inner City Rongoa Garden