C U L T U R E
ART ON SHOW The annual NZ Art show is an important avenue for local artists to sell their work. From crisp award-winning photographs by Brooklyn’s Catherine Cattanach, moody, atmospheric oil paintings by Jane Blackmore, chicken portraits by Paekākāriki’s Ronda Thompson and photorealistic landscapes by Ben Dellabarca the show assembles a wide diversity of styles and genres. There are also 90 sculptures that have been selected for the RT Nelson sculpture awards, including carved clay vessels by Porirua’s Stevei Houkāmau (pictured). At TSB Arena, from 3 to 5 June.
IN THE BAG
CRINGE REVERSE
Handbags, gin, and gelato – what’s not to like? Every Thursday in July, thow a glamorous bag over your shoulder and enjoy a free curator’s tour of Carry Me (with refreshments). The show brings over 50 luxurious handbags from private Italian collections – think “The Jackie”, Diana’s “Lady Dior”, or Carrie Bradshaw’s “Baguette” – to just one New Zealand venue, Upper Hutt’s Whirinaki Whare Taonga. Related events include a Retro and Vintage Fair at the gallery on 24 July. Carry Me: 100 Years of Handbags, from 14 May to 7 August, Whirinaki Whare Taonga, Upper Hutt.
In 2021, almost one in four songs on commercial radio came from New Zealand acts. That’s a huge jump from five years ago, when only 12 percent were locally grown. And there were over 25,000 radio plays of waiata reo Māori, up from 4,582 in 2019. These record-breaking numbers were boosted by NZ On Air investment from the Arts Recovery Package, which funded over 400 music projects in 2021 and the next two years.
COFFEE & GREAT READS
RED MUSIC Violin virtuoso Amalia Hall (pictured) has performed as a soloist with many European orchestras, but May’s Passione concert will be her NZSO debut. Well known to chamber music aficionados, and as concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington, Hall will play John Corigliano’s Chaconne from his score for The Red Violin. James Judd, NZSO Music Director Emeritus, also returns to conduct two masterpieces, Strauss’s Don Juan, and Prokofiev’s score for Romeo and Juliet, in a night of grand, stirring, passionate music.
vicbooks.co.nz
