From cooking to photography, to fashion design and drama, and much more, there will be myriad creative genres to hear about and be inspired by at ArtsMad.
The first ArtsMad event for 2021 is being held on Tuesday, February 9, 5.30pm to 7.30pm, at the Monarch Room, Prince's Gate Hotel.
There will be eight speakers sharing their various creative passions and projects.
Matt Cooper. Photo / Supplied
Lake Rotoma local Matt Cooper, has been a chef for 30 years working all over New Zealand and Australia.
Losing his job during a restructure prompted by Covid-19, gave him the opportunity to develop a new enterprise.
Filling a gap in the market to provide gourmet, home-delivered, affordable meals for the local community, Matt's new enterprise Social Eats was launched in July last year.
In October 2020 Restaurant Association of New Zealand launched The Restaurant Association Resilience Awards – regional awards to acknowledge those who have made a significant contribution in response to the pandemic.
Matt was stoked to be the winner for the Rotorua region's The Outstanding Innovation Award.
This year she has been working on a project called 100 Women Rotorua, a series of portraits that seeks to visually represent the female population of our city based on census statistics of age, ethnicity and place of birth.
"The portraits will intentionally represent our diverse population, highlight the make-up of our community and celebrate women in all of their capacities."
She says this is her second time speaking at ArtsMad and she loves it because it is a supportive environment.
"I tend to go to each ArtsMad that I can."
The exhibition will be shown at the Council Galleria from March 4. Katy lives and works in Rotorua.
Natascha Hartzuiker
Natascha Hartzuiker says as a self-proclaimed "Jack of all trades and a master of none" it has been exciting to rediscover her passion for film-based photography during her month-long residency at The Arts Village.
She will be discussing the residency and how the outcome was different and even better than she expected.
"ArtsMad is a great way to learn what's happening in the community in all sorts of things."
She is currently showing her work in 'Can, Camera, Ink', a joint exhibition of the Residency Artists, open until February 19 at The Arts Village.
Vanessa McWilliams is a Rotorua-based fashion designer who recently completed a graduate diploma in Creative Entrepreneurship at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.
With a strong background of handcrafts learnt at a young age, Vanessa is mostly self-taught with her main focus on creating unique hand-knitted garments.
She spends most of her time creating custom garments under her womenswear label, Magpieness, alongside creating pieces that are in the realm of wearable art.
Her work stems from a love of finding a use for unwanted "ugly" clothing and draws aesthetic inspiration from fashions of the mid-20th century.
Vanessa's latest works explore the transformation of recycled textiles into something unexpected or an object of beauty.
Jessica Newman. Photo / Supplied
Jessica Newman is an artist of 21 years and author of 'The Journey Project' - a creative and interactive exploration into mental wellness.
She will be talking about 'The Journey Project' for ArtsMad.
"I will be teaching this at St Mary's Catholic School Rotorua this term as part of the Creatives in Schools programme.
"This programme is delivered by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatū Taonga and Creative New Zealand.
"The aim of my project is to provide opportunity for students to find their creative voice through use of different mediums while learning ways to increase their confidence, ignite their resilience and build endurance for life's journey."
Razor Taser Laser. Photo / Supplied
Razor Taser Laser, is a self-taught stencil and spray artist, drawn to this art form from travelling the world and experiencing cities, spaces, and subcultures.
Through ArtsMad people will be able to see where it all began and get a sneak peak into the mind and world of a stencil graffiti artist.
Drama Kids has been running since 2010 and currently operates out of Shambles Theatre.
Jennifer also teaches private speech and drama lessons at John Paul College one day a week.
Jennifer has always had a passion for the arts and for mentoring young people.
She has directed a number of charity showcases and student productions and also enjoys performing in local plays and play readings when her schedule allows.
The details - What: ArtsMad - When: Tuesday, February 9, 5.30m to 7.30pm - Where: Monarch Room, Prince's Gate Hotel - Gold coin koha welcome
