VOLUME I ISSUE 2
JUNE 2021
P H OT O G R A P H E R S F O R A B E T T E R W O R L D
SPECIAL EDITION
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
EDITOR’S WELCOME
W
elcome to our first ‘special edition’ Excio Journal. Every quarter, in addition to our main journal, we will publish a special edition highlighting something special. This time we are super excited to show you some of the events Excio members captured on camera. After spending most of 2020 in ‘isolation’ it has been great to see so many public performances taking place in New Zealand in the first half of the year. Wellingtonians were lucky to have an opportunity to attend events including “What If The City Was A Theatre”, Cubadupa, and Newtown Festival just to name a few events that took place in our most compact and creative city. As you know, photographs help us preserve memories and capture and share moments that will not be repeated exactly the same ever again. When it comes to street and event photography this is especially true as the scene evolves within seconds making every moment matter, so what you will see on the following pages is truly unique. The “What If The City Was A Theatre” events saw 31 creative organisations working together to fill the city with live art and performances. With 286 works presented across the city over 7 weeks and 582 individual performance events for Wellingtonians to attend it’s no wonder we had a difficult job narrowing down the photographs that represent some of the key performances of this event to only 48 pages! With more than 400 members of our tight-knit Excio photo community taking part in regular photo challenges, displaying their work on thousands of mobile devices, and sharing their stories, we always advocate following responsible photography principles including looking after the environment when taking landscape photos and respecting culture and people, especially when it comes to approaching and taking photographs of members of the public on the street. Some of the photographs you will see on the following pages are available for sale on our Fair Trade Photography marketplace at www.excioshop.io. By buying images from Excio members you are supporting local photographers who are being rewarded fairly but that’s not all, 10% from each image sale goes to a charity of your choice. We would like to thank our partners, Wellington City Council and The Performance Arcade for helping to make this special edition Excio journal possible as well as our members for contributing their photographs. Contributors who made this issue possible are: Ann Kilpatrick, Karen Miller, Alan Blundell, Milan Maric, DJ, huvanesh Rathore, Chris McKeown, Greg Arnold, Peter Kurdulija, Mark Chivers, Lola Makower, Serge Seva and you will also see a couple of my photographs that made it through thanks to the selection by Wellington City Council. Special acknowledgments go to Milan Maric and Alan Blundell who managed to photograph most events!
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Ana Lyubich Co-founder, CEO of Excio
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Excio Journal Volume I Special Issue Cover Photo Alan Blundell, “Cable Car Duet” at «What If The City Was A Theatre»
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Captions www.citytheatre.co.nz www.cubadupa.co.nz www.newtownfestival.org.nz Publisher Excio Photo Community
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Website
What If The City Was A Theatre..?
www.excio.io To purchase images visit CubaDupa
www.excioshop.io Enquiries
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hello@excio.io Newtown Festival Production Paper used for printing this journal comes from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations and is FSC (R) certified. Print copies are available for purchase at www.excio.io/journal
All rights reserved © 2021 Reproduction of any material appearing in this magazine in any form is forbidden without prior consent of the publisher. Disclaimer: Opinions of contributing authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine.
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
WHAT IF THE CITY WAS A THEATRE...?
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he opening performance of the programme was Whairepo Lagoon Dance, an event that brought together over 45 talented performers from across Aotearoa including dancers from MOTH, singers from Wellington Opera, Hiwa Kapa Haka group, and singer/songwriter Sharn Te Pou. A celebration of energy, colour and movement, the opening performance was representative of the exciting, multidisciplinary nature of the overall programme.
A dynamic and varied programme was curated in association with and presented by Movement of the Human (MOTH). Existing works such as Java Dance Theatre’s internationally acclaimed Back of the Bus and Footnote New Zealand Dance’s If These Walls… were programmed alongside works being presented for the first time as part of What if the City was a Theatre? such as MOTH’s playful and eye-catching Flamingo Scooter Ballet and House of Sand’s powerful feminist work Reddy Nelken.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
COLOSSAL Productions presented their kinetic performance installation Metronome in Odlins Plaza, Glover Park, and under the sails at Queen’s Wharf.
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PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
On board the cable car were singers, Djs, and an accordion player as part of The Most Pleasurable Cable Car Ride You’ve Ever Had. Commuters and deliberate audience members alike enjoyed this cable car dance party with some delicious edible treats included as part of this sensory experience presented by The Sensonauts.
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PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY ANN KILPATRICK excio.gallery/ann
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Along Oriental Parade were six free standing light structures in the light installation Pou Rama, designed by Storybox in collaboration with Māori visual artist Desna Whaanga-Schollum.
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PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
A vacant retail space on Courtenay Place housed Prophetic Visions, an exhibition exploring the idea of optimistic and utopian narratives curated by Dilohana Lekamge.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Fabulous Fashion brought the Press Hall on Willis Street to life with a show of local fashion.
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PHOTO BY ANA LYUBICH excio.gallery/artana
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
HOLODECK saw New Zealand School of Dance explore a combination of live performance, LED walls and games engines in two open rehearsals and two performances included in the What if the City was a Theatre? programme.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
For The Cuba Street Shopfront Takeover, 12 shop windows on Cuba Street were dressed by amazing costume designers, set makers, and visual artists with living mannequins capturing the imaginations of shoppers and passersby.
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PHOTO BY KAREN MILLER excio.gallery/miller
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY KAREN MILLER excio.gallery/miller
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY ALISON VALENTINE excio.gallery/alison
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Barbarian productions invited the public to input on a discussion around a topical subject in EggFruit. Led by charismatic hosts, participants were invited into the Eggfruit structure to record their thoughts on Aotearoa’s ‘team of 5 million’.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Through the medium of dance, ‘Station to Station’ delved into the many experiences of the station’s platform, exploring themes of long and short journeys, meetings and partings, missed trains and lost connections. WIDance (Wellington leading community inclusive dance organisation) celebrates the artistic potential of each of their performers and aims to challenge public perception around dance and disability through performance.
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PHOTO BY ANN KILPATRICK excio.gallery/ann
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Borderline Arts Ensemble’s dramatic and nostalgic contemporary dance duet, Thursday, based on Brief Encounter (named by The Guardian as “the best romantic film of all time”) was performed in Wellington Railway Station.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
The beautiful and atmospheric Musical Box by the Metamorphosis artists provided a series of duets by accordion and cello in the setting of the minimal and stylish Zambesi clothing store.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Sealion is a gatekeeper vessel at the end of Queen’s Wharf, a cherished den of local musicians and creatives, a sanctuary of genuine human connection in the midst of the bustling business district. In celebration of the Performance Arcade and CityTheatre 2021, the Sealion’s usual crew of graffiti art gulls passed the rigging over to flesh and scale, blood and tail seaborne performers. Hauling themselves right from the deep and up onto the top deck of the storied vessel they seduced East by West seafarers and waterfront wanderers alike with their effervescent escapades.
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PHOTO BY ANA LYUBICH excio.gallery/artana
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Filament and Alien Abduction were two shorter performances which repeated over a longer period of time to capture the attention of passersby with their lighting, music and mesmerizing aerial circus skills.
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PHOTO BY DJ excio.gallery/dj
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PHOTO BY ANA LYUBICH excio.gallery/ana
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Two performances of ADRIFT involved live music from Sharn Te Pou, working alongside circus performers who used the entire Hikitia boat as their stage to present a series of nail biting aerial and balance skills.
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PHOTO BY DJ excio.gallery/dj
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
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PHOTO BY DJ excio.gallery/dj
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Wellington choreographer Holly Newsome and 20 Movers and Shakers from Wellington’s charismatic performing arts sector created an outdoor performance procession across Wellington’s waterfront in a never seen before scooter spectacle.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Wellington Opera presented a series of Pop up Opera! performances in 10 different locations around the city, with audience members planning visits to particular locations as well as passersby being surprised by them. Later on in the programme, Wellington Opera performed on the scaffolds and walkways of the Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre building site with songs from Don Giovanni.
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Based on the choreographic structure of ‘The Neklen Line’ by Pina Bausch, a trail of dancers and volunteers weaved their way through the Wellington streets to the rousing anthem ‘I am Woman’ by the late Hellen Reddy. “We walk together in solidarity as a symbol and respect and gratitude for the woman artists who have come before us. They have paved the way for freedom of expression and femininity in all its forms. We walk proudly in their path.”
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PHOTO BY MILAN MARIC excio.gallery/milan
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
Seven free outdoor NZ Fringe shows were listed individually as events within City/Theatre as they fit with the kaupapa of the overall programme.
PHOTO BY ANN KILPATRICK excio.gallery/ann
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
New Zealand Fringe Festival and Cubadupa were listed as events in the City/Theatre printed programme and website, extending the kaupapa of the programme through to autumn with free events, experimental performance, and imaginative transformation of city spaces.
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PHOTO BY ANA LYUBICH excio.gallery/artana
EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
FACES OF CUBADUPA New Zealand’s most diverse and creative street festival.
C
ubaDupa celebrates the vibrancy and unique creative spirit of Te Whanganuia-Tara against the backdrop of Wellington’s favourite street: Cuba Street. This free, family friendly event boasted over 19 hours of programmed entertainment spanning genres and creative expressions. CubaDupa stands for the extraordinary and is proud to have hosted the ultimate platform of transformation, discovery, innovation and extraordinary cultural experiences in the heart of the Creative Capital of New Zealand for another year.
Combining artists from national and global stages, CubaDupa’s focus is always on enriching the community with artistic excellence with 2021 their most ambitious year yet! The soul of Cuba precinct came to life with 50 stages and creative zones, delivering 500 performances and 20 parades with over 1700 artists from all over Aotearoa; as well as the annual and delicious Street Feast which included over 120 food vendors and licensed areas in the completely pedestrianised Cuba Street Precinct.
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PHOTO BY PETER KURDULIJA excio.gallery/kurdulija
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PHOTO BY BHUVANESH RATHORE excio.gallery/butterclick
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PHOTO BY GREG ARNOLD excio.gallery/greg
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PHOTO BY KAREN MILLER excio.gallery/miller
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PHOTO BY ANN KILPATRICK excio.gallery/ann
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PHOTO BY ANN KILPATRICK excio.gallery/ann
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PHOTO BY LOLA MAKOWER excio.gallery/lola
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PHOTO BY CHRIS MCKEOWN excio.gallery/mckeown
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PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan
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PHOTO BY SERGE SEVA excio.gallery/serge
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EXCIO JOURNAL | VOLUME I | SPECIAL EDITION
NEWTOWN FESTIVAL One of Wellington’s most exciting, diverse, and vibrant events.
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n Festival Street Fair Day, 11 blocks of central Riddiford Street and the adjoining Constable, Rintoul, and 11 side streets are closed to vehicles and opened up to 80,000 people. The heart of Newtown is transformed by a smorgasbord of 12 music stages, a busking pitch, 3 fairground sites, and over 420 stalls. Stages, stalls and people pack the main street and all the adjoining side streets.
Thinking globally and acting locally – putting an enormous amount of effort into ensuring the Festival is such a success year after year is a way of contributing to making the world a better place. The Festival organisers believe that “community” only exists if people are willing to be active participants, and share a vision of the bigger picture beyond their own wants and needs.
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PHOTO BY MARK CHIVERS excio.gallery/markc
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PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan
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PHOTO BY CHRIS MCKEOWN excio.gallery/mckeown
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PHOTO BY CHRIS MCKEOWN excio.gallery/mckeown
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NEWTOWN FESTIVAL PHOTO BY ALAN BLUNDELL excio.gallery/alan