Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Whangarei ATM focuses on 'mood' and not money

Alexandra Newlove
Northern Advocate·
2 Aug, 2016 11:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
This ATM doesn't care how much money you have, and will be in Whangarei from today with the aim of get fresh ideas flowing ahead of the October council elections.

This ATM doesn't care how much money you have, and will be in Whangarei from today with the aim of get fresh ideas flowing ahead of the October council elections.

A new ATM in Whangarei will focus on how you feel rather than how much money you have.

Moodbank - a public art project with Wellington roots - is an ATM-style machine which asks passers by to "deposit" how they are feeling, with a list of more than 1000 emotions to choose from. The data is then fed into a system which analyses the overall mood of the city.

The ATM is being brought to Whangarei today by TogetherTahi, a collective focused on citizen engagement and community well-being, which is putting up candidates in Whangarei's urban wards in the coming local government election.

We'll be able to spatially map the moods of Whangarei.

Ash Holwell

Spokesman Ash Holwell said the idea was to provide an alternative discourse to the obsession with "economic growth" which often dominated in politics.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Moodbank uses well-being, rather than money, as its currency.

"So, is how we're feeling as a city a valid conversation to be having? Rather than just 'oh, we've created another 60 jobs at McDonald's,'" he said.

The ATM's 1000 moods also aimed to validate the entire human experience including unspoken and unacknowledged emotions, not just the feelings that were useful in consumer culture.

Mr Holwell said the aim was to set the ATM up in the CBD initially. It would then tour public places around the district.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Manaia PHO had expressed an interest in hosting the machine at its service providers, with schools and community halls other possible locations.

"We'll be able to spatially map the moods of Whangarei ... The more it moves, the more we get a sense of what's happening," Mr Holwell said.

He said the machine would also raise awareness about the October elections and gave people an easy and accessible way to contribute to the conversation.

Information deposited would be publicly accessible via a website, but the final aim would be to display it in town, possibly using a large projection which would update in real time.

Moodbank was created by Wellington artist Vanessa Crowe, who wanted to "mimic and subvert" the banking industry's interest in moods, and explore the role machines now play in sharing feelings and experiences.

If your organisation would like to host the Moodbank, contact TogetherTahi@gmail.com or look out for the machine in the CBD.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Great work by our officers': Gun and ammo seized after police pursuit

19 Sep 03:27 AM
Northern Advocate

'Every vote counts': Teenagers want their say in local elections 

18 Sep 11:00 PM
Northern Advocate

Far North ‘in crisis’: Calls grow for mandatory dog desexing

18 Sep 05:00 PM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Great work by our officers': Gun and ammo seized after police pursuit
Northern Advocate

'Great work by our officers': Gun and ammo seized after police pursuit

Man in court after stolen car leads police to firearm and ammunition.

19 Sep 03:27 AM
'Every vote counts': Teenagers want their say in local elections 
Northern Advocate

'Every vote counts': Teenagers want their say in local elections 

18 Sep 11:00 PM
Far North ‘in crisis’: Calls grow for mandatory dog desexing
Northern Advocate

Far North ‘in crisis’: Calls grow for mandatory dog desexing

18 Sep 05:00 PM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP