Art and about with Naomi McCleary

Split Level View Finder - Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art, now installed in Te Uru. Photo: Sam Hartnett.

I’m struggling to master my thoughts in writing about the arts right now. My plans for the column this month have been laid waste in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the world. All I can see at this moment in time is that it is serious beyond my comprehension and that the implications radiate out like ripples on water and further than I can see.

What does this mean for the arts sector? We are a modest part of the whole, but the impacts are sudden, visible and catastrophic. Events are tumbling on a daily basis; Auckland and Wellington Arts Festivals, Pasifika – and right now, any event likely to attract more than 500 people is officially banned. Locally this puts our much-loved Titirangi Festival of Music into postponement until September. Sounds straightforward – but no, it is not. Performers already booked may be available in September, but may not. Precious budget has been expended on advertising collateral, venues have to be rebooked.

Given that the Going West Writers Festival is also in September, it seems right and proper that conversations be held about collaboration – and welcome that will be – but the painful truth is that none of us know whether September will be any different to now.

At the moment there is much emotion, indeed sadness, around events that have a huge history and the passionate engagement of people for whom the expression of our culture is primary to their lives. But with the right dosage of luck, hope and optimism, we may find that whatever we come up with not only compensates us for immediate losses but brings forth the famous Westie innovation, uniting audiences with the best artists in all forms and genres. It might be online. It might be in your post box. And who knows? It might even be a gathering of real, live people. Right now, however, there is a real economic impact and that will radiate throughout the arts communities of New Zealand to unprecedented effect.

Creative New Zealand has announced that there will be some level of strategic response by the end of March – and that may give some sense of direction. One hopes so.

So what do we do to keep the creative life of the community alive? Events of any size are a no-no and that is clear. Our galleries and arts centres can continue to function but with a clear proviso that anyone experiencing flu symptoms, or who is in self-isolation, keeps well away and that ‘social distancing’ is adhered to. There is the possibility that galleries may have to close, but let’s not go there yet. Social distancing is not too difficult, although I have to confess that I’m struggling awkwardly with non-touch greetings. It takes practice to do it with a modicum of grace.

So here’s a few suggestions for keeping involved with the arts world (and believe me, it won’t be long before work that responds to Covid19 will come pouring out of the fertile minds and hearts of artists). And remember, a quiet hour or so in a gallery offers a beautiful distraction from our troubles and allows ample room and time for keeping to that new concept of social distancing.

Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery hosts the first comprehensive exhibition of Theo Schoon’s art in decades. Split Level View Finder rethinks his legacy for 21st–century Aotearoa.

Theo Schoon described himself as a ‘cat sniffing around in a strange warehouse’. He worked across and between cultures and contexts, finding Paul Klee in the rock drawings of Te Wai Pounamu and art brut in the drawings of Rolfe Hattaway, a patient at Avondale Mental Hospital.

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