Jackie Evans. Photo / Supplied
You are bound to learn something interesting and new from the stories being shared in the upcoming ArtsMad session.
It is being held on Thursday at the Monarch Room, Prince's Gate Hotel, with nine speakers giving a range of short art talks.
Mary-Beth Acres is currently the director of The Arts Village, but will soon be finishing up her role to pursue new career opportunities down in Ōtautahi.
Outside of her day job, she is also an artist and arts enthusiast.
"I work in all mediums, although mostly watercolour and gouache lately, and my arts practice is predominantly small illustrative works featuring botanical elements and wildlife."
In 2020 she started work on Flower Fables - a series of 'botanical uterus' works which consider the varied experiences of the many amazing, powerful humans who struggle with issues related to their fertility, endometriosis, or polycystic ovaries.
Katrina Chandra has been working in professional theatre nationally and internationally for more than three decades.
She has held many roles including technician, lighting and sound designer, production manager, playwright's agent, director, dramaturg and producer for companies such as Bats, Taki Rua, Silo, Playmarket, Mangere Arts Centre and Snuff Puppets.
Katrina has toured work to many festivals around the world including in Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, German, Peru, Brazil and Denmark.
She's delighted to be the new programme delivery manager for the Sir Howard Morrison Arts Centre, particularly to encourage rangatahi into the arts.
Geoffrey Cox was born in England but has spent most of his life in New Zealand.
He got into kitset model making at the age of about 8 while spending a few weeks in hospital, and into designing and making his own at the age of about 11.
The next decade saw him improving technique, but his present model-making period really took off about 20 years ago when he was asked to make dinosaurs for Auckland Museum.
He says there is an emphasis on absolute accuracy, and his models are more 3D illustrations.
Geoffrey will be giving a summary of how he got into model making/came to be self-taught, what he's doing now, and how you do it.
"It's going to be an enjoyable evening I'm sure."
Jackie Evans is a poet, writer and anthologist, who has found poetry, especially humorous verse, to be a healing influence in her life.
She has used poetry in her teaching career, is a member of the Rotorua Mad Poets Society, and has edited or co-edited 10 of its many anthologies of verse.
She has published two of her own anthologies of poetry, as well as three biographies of local poets, including the late poet Eru Potaka Dewes.
Finley English will be speaking with Rafa Moreira from an Intrepid Book Travelling Society perspective.
He attends Western Heights High School as a Year 9 student and also takes part in competitive swimming at a national age group level.
Last year following lockdown, he designed and ran the Read for a Feed programme, working alongside McLeods Booksellers to feed hungry families which were struggling due to Covid-19 job loss.
Together, they raised $200 to put towards the Salvation Army's food bank budget, where he now volunteers for an hour every week on a Wednesday.
He is currently helping McLeods by reviewing some books in order to get a younger reader's perspective on the story, and emerge as the student ambassador for their Intrepid Book Travelling Society project.
Rafa Moreira's whakapapa is across the ocean, but his whānau is in Aotearoa. He is a New Zealand soul born in Brazil.
He is in charge of the business, marketing and public relations at McLeods Booksellers, chairman of a new charitable trust aimed at raising literacy in the younger generation - In Books We Trust, and chief executive at Be Essential Oils.
He has worked with owls, rescued sea turtles, captured alligators, fought forest fires, and had a hand in managing parks in the Amazon jungle, as well as multimillion-dollar companies as a bank manager throughout his life.
Kenny Williams (Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou) is a freelance brand strategist and marketer with more than 10 years of experience developing creative campaigns in advertising, media, and tech.
Kenny returned to Aotearoa after living in New York City, helping New Zealand exporters tell their story and grow their business.
Right now, he is marketing and communications lead for Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival in Rotorua, happening September 9 to 19.
He is also Greenstone TV's marketing lead for their productions Vegas and My Life Is Murder starring Lucy Lawless.
Kiri Kora refers to herself as "a guy that likes drawing", though that barely scratches the surface.
A digital artist that lives in parts of the internet, from Instagram to Patreon and beyond, creating fan art, animated avatars and Fursonas.
Kiri turns her cartoon artwork into stickers, key rings and magnets to sell at conventions such as Armageddon and Chromacon.
A trained cartoon animator, Kiri often enters the 48 Hour FIlmmaking Competition and has worked in Māori language television production.
Nick Cowley from The Refinery says he is lucky in that he's always known what he wants to do.
At 14 years old it started for him, and he's been designing and making precious things every day since then.
He says his jewellery business is a vehicle to that end, allowing him to express his love of beauty and craft, with the skills he's been given and evolved over the last 35 years.
Nick says at ArtsMad he'll be showcasing what he does through images and sharing the steps taken to get there.
He says he's looking forward to seeing the other presentations, getting involved in the community and talking to other local artists.
The Details
- What: ArtsMad
- When: Tuesday, August 10, 5.30pm to 7.30pm
- Where: Monarch Room, Prince's Gate
- Gold coin koha
She delivered her speech in te reo Māori about embracing diversity.