LIVING
R O O M 06
STREET LEVEL ACTIVITY PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD
PREPARED BY PITSCH LEISER AND FLEUR PALMER, 24 OCTOBER 2005
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
1
Contents
Overview Strategic Context Partnerships The Programme Concept Proverbial Auckland Axminster Morning Tea Pallet Maze Multicultimedia Castles in the Sand Durham Lights Skeletons in the Closet Schedule of Events Budget table
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
2
Overview LIVING ROOM is the proposal submitted by Pitsch Leiser and Fleur Palmer responding to a request from Auckland City Council, as part of its CBD Strategy, seeking to enliven its public spaces (street environments, parks and squares) in the CBD through a “street level activity programme”. LIVING ROOM encompasses a series of events and activities (performative interventions) that forms a programme achieving the following proposed outcomes as identified in the proposal brief: Bring to or enhance and involve the ethnic diversity, vitality and humanity of the CBD public domain by animating public spaces. Engage the public through activity in public spaces and tapping into positive feelings and emotion. Create a sense of ownership and belonging. Consider events targeted for children and youth. Consolidate the Living Rooms programme as part of a longer term vision. LIVING ROOM proposes a series of individual projects that offer a range outcomes and a chosen selection thereof could be delivered based on available Auckland City Council funding of $80,000 and contributions of key project partners as identified within each individual project budget. Projects not chosen could be deferred to next season.
Strategic Context LIVING ROOM aims to be aligned with the CBD Strategy, adopted by Auckland City Council in May 2004 that provides the main strategic context for this programme, and the Auckland City Events Strategy, approved in 2001.
Partnerships LIVING ROOM 06 aims to develop a series of key partnerships with Auckland City and other service providers in order to deliver the proposed programme efficiently and within the budget available. In particular a partnership with Auckland City Events, Auckland City Film and Events Facilitation and The Edge is paramount as it ensures event management, regulatory and event marketing promotional requirements are optimised in partnership with the project coordinators. Other partnerships are developed with the individual project leaders and appropriate sponsors for each project. These include material and service providers relevant to each project. LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
3
The Programme Concept LIVING ROOM is an event programme that activates Auckland at the street level interface: LIVING ROOM aims to construct a series of small scale and large scale performative interventions on a site or sites within the Auckland CBD. Each intervention will engage public in a sensory experience with a variety of sites, with a focus on boundaries associated with the public space of the city and an interface with the private space of the people who occupy the city. Interventions will make full use of multi media technologies such as light, film projection, sound, 1:1 constructions, and performance. Interventions will have a temporary duration and vary from one hour for performance based activities which may temporarily involve an element of risk or disturbance, to one month for larger scale physical installations. Interventions would include: •
Lighting installations highlighting buildings, video and slide projections onto temporary screens, temporary lightweight structures, existing built structures and buildings within the CBD. Key words: light, dark, blurry, intense, shadowy, small, large, public, private.
•
Sound – installations activating or linking particular sites on an intimate personal level or on a larger scale. Key words: big, small, loud, quite, high, low, vibrating, constant, tonal, static, public, and private.
•
Temporal structures - fabricated in lightweight materials, that activate unoccupied sites at ground level, surfaces of existing structures or the air space over streets (clotheslines/drapes/light) Key words: fragility, memory, relationship to touch: – soft, hard, wet, dry, warm, cold, hot, heavy, light, rough, smooth or how they respond to light.
•
Performance – bodies/space interventions involving movement, installation structure, light and sound
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
4
Sites targeted for the interventions will be a range of existing public sites that lack intensity, are forgotten and unused, or sites which can be activated by this programme either temporarily, such as parking spaces, seat benches, road crossings or streets with limited road traffic such as Rutland street, Durham Lane, Elliot Street and other sites which could be used for more permanent interventions such as: • • • • • •
Footpaths Building facades Gaps between buildings The air space across or along key streets (e.g. Elliot Street/ Durham Lane) for clotheslines and drape installations Grassed area outside the Town hall Aotea Square or Britomart
While a mapping of these interventions will be programmed and can be made available to the public, by way of website and media releases some of the interventions will act as a series of encounters as people wander the city. In this way it will be possible for the public to experience the interventions without requiring prior knowledge that this event is taking place. In their own wanderings they will encounter spaces within the city which will provoke another way of seeing the city. This programme will involve various artists who specialise in a consideration of activating spaces within the city as part of their practice. This collaboration will involve a series of smaller scale interventions on sites within the Auckland CBD targeting the Queen street spine and adjacent streets and open spaces, from the ferry wharves up to and including K Road. In order to initiate and plan a programme for 2006 a table with key concepts and collaborators has been identified (see appendix A). Priority should be given to concepts that have been scoped for their feasibility and fit within proposed budget of $80,000. Further discussion between Auckland City and the project coordinators may be required to agree on suitable selection.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
5
PROVERBIAL AUCKLAND
He tini nga whetu e ngaro I te kapua iti many stars cannot be concealed by a small cloud
Project Outline This project builds on the success of the Poetry on the Pavement installation last year. Instead of poems, there will be a series of popular proverbs drawn from many different cultures such as Maori, Pacific, Asian, English and European. Proverbial Auckland will consist of a journey of about thirty proverbs located in various sites in the CBD. A range of proverbs will be selected that best represents the diversity of Auckland City whether past or present. The selection may be political, challenging, beautiful, humorous, or entertaining. Each selection will be inscribed with non permanent paint onto the pavement in its original text and with an English translation.
Draft Budget (excluding GST) Proverbial Auckland Curatorial Services Administration Production Removal Total:
Source/curate/locate/seek permissions Paint/stencils/labour
Production costs could be reduced if stencil preparation could be sponsored by sign company, e.g. Lexicon and paint be supplied by a paint company e.g. Resene Paints Key Partners Auckland City Events, Auckland City Film and Events Facilitation, Resene Paints.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
6
AXMINSTER Project Outline Auckland has a reputation of forgetting its past. We demolish or renovate our historic buildings, and forever eliminate past traces in a bid for progress. This proposal consists of an installation of 3 house lots of body carpet laid into the centre of Aotea Square. These house lots of carpeted flooring, will be professionally laid exactly as they were in the original houses. Each room signified by the carpet will act as a footprint of the original domestic space but overlaid into the cityscape, forming a strong juxtaposition between the public realm and the private interface of domestic interiors. And a nostalgic references to a past history. Draft Budget (excluding GST) Item 3 House lots of body carpet (preferably figured) Transport Labour Cost
laying, and uplifting and removing carpet
In order to implement this transformation a partnership with City Events, the edge and Aotea markets will ensure that the transformation will occur smoothly with no disruption to already organised events. Key Partners The Edge, Aotea Markets, Auckland City Events, Hills Flooring.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
7
MORNING TEA Project Outline This project involves a performative event to offer morning tea to office workers in 5 different locations in the CBD. Lace covered tables and chairs will be set up in small clusters on the street pavement offering morning tea to office workers. The event won’t be advertised but will be offered as unexpected surprise.
Draft Budget (details TBC) Furniture, crockery hire Scones and tea Actors Labour
owners permits, mounting, serving and taking down
Total Key Partners HOTC, Auckland City Film and Events Facilitation, Building owners Queen Street, Lawn Street, K Road.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
8
PALLET MAZE Project Outline This project involves an installation of a maze constructed out of wooden pallets and located in Britomart. The pallets will be intricately stacked to form a miniature city of 2 meter high corridors and internal rooms linked to higher stacks 3 meters high of minarets. When stacked the pallets will have a wooden aesthetic, like lumberyard creating filtered views which offer glimpses to the other spaces adding to a sense of anticipation. This layered filter will create intricate shadows in strong sunlight. Different rooms will offer differing spatial experiences.
Draft Budget (details TBC) Wooden Pallets Engineering report Resource Consents Labour Total
owners permits, mounting, take down
Key Partners HOTC, Auckland City Film and Events Facilitation, Fletchers or Carter Holt Harvey.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
9
MULTICULTIMEDIA Project Outline Objective Create multimedia project to show cultural diversity and multicultural harmony in the Auckland CBD. Method The project will be a multimedia format using variety media format such as photography, High Definition Digital video format and 2D/3D graphic animation. The multimedia content will be shown in 4 or 6 Plasma displays with music in public spaces in the CBD. The first project is that people from different ethnic groups sing Po kare kare Ana in their own languages and it will be around 3 minutes long. And the second project will show cultural diversity in the CBD by showing photographs of signboards of shops (different written characters), foods and people. It will be around 3 minutes long. Description The first multimedia presentation: We will film people from different ethnic groups (more than 20) and age groups (from children to elderly in front of famous public spaces in the CBD). We will film their faces in close-up shot and their upper bodies in medium shot when they sing ‘Pokarekare Ana’ in their own language. After we film them, we will edit in following sequences. Scene 1 – Extreme close up shot of people singing the first verse of Pokarekare Ana. The audiences will see every 4 seconds, people will be changed and also languages will be different.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
10
Scene 2 – Close-up shot of people using mixing images singing the rest of first verse of the song in their own languages.
Scene 3 – Extreme close-up of 4 mixed images of mouth singing the 2nd verse of Pokarekare Ana in their own languages.
Scene 4 – Medium shot of people wearing their traditional clothes singing the rest of Pokarekare Ana in Maori.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
11
The visual documentary: It will show the cultural diversity that enriches people’s everyday experiences in the CBD. We will take shots of daily life in the CBD area related to cultural diversity. The visual documentary of Auckland will be images with added soundscapes. The visual montages will tell the story without traditional dialogued structures. Also, it will be a mix of ‘black and white’ and colour depending on images. The visual documentary shows these following sequences to tell the story and will be around 3 to 4 minutes. -
Start from a sunrise shot over the city from Mt. Eden in fast mode (fast frame) Showing early activities in the CBD; people get out from buses and trains and go to work and school, also, showing parent drop their children off in a childcare centre in fast tempo. Showing traffic jam in the CBD, close up of drivers’ angry and expressionless faces. People open shops and prepare for a day in the Victoria market and Chinese market. (Shots of making cappuccino in a café, delivery of vegetables and other goods to the shop – different ethic groups). Homeless people sleep in a park and in front of fancy apartments. Migrant construction workers in apartment construction areas. (Working, smoking and talking in their own languages) News footages of politicians talking about immigration policy. Showing international language students come out from a language school in Fort St. (Contrast images with strip clubs) A group of tourists enter the Auckland Museum and smoke in front of the museum (Long shot and long take) A group of young Asian students hang around in Mid City, Queen St. Street kid. Boys on skateboards in Aotea Square. Graffiti behind railway station, behind K-Road and Fort St. Asians gamble in the Sky City casino. Showing multicultural diversities in the CBD using different characters of signboards, other ethnic foods and their languages in the CBD. People are going back to their homes. A sunset shot over the city from Mission Bay (In fast mode). Busy kitchen shots of Turkish and Chinese restaurants. Rich people in fancy restaurants in Viaduct harbour. Catch different ethic groups’ conversations in their own languages. Young people (Funk) in K-Road. Queen St on Friday night. (Modified racing cars, noise and drinking) Early morning shot in the CBD (People cleans the streets and rubbish bins) A sunrise shot from Harbour Bridge.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
12
Draft Budget Hire of 6 Plasma displays Hire of sound system Hire of High Definition Video Camera, sound and lighting equipment Filming and Photography Graphic design Actors Editing Concept design and supervision Total
Key Partners: Phillips, Panasonic, Sony, Retail shops, Britomart Railway Station
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
13
CASTLES IN THE SAND By Catherine Lewis of Momentus LTD Project Outline Where have all the children gone? It is a rare and beautiful thing to see young children within Auckland’s CBD. Children are a symbol of life, children at play a symbol of joy. The move to enliven the inner city, must incorporate attractions and activities for children. Such installations must be accessible and inclusive; they must be interactive, fun, colourful and safe. Whilst appealing to children they must also sustain and withstand an adult audience. The installation must satisfy the more sophisticated adult audience that enters the city at night, whilst entertaining children of a broad age range, throughout the day. Sand and water are the key elements of the iconic kiwi summer. If we were not at the beach we were playing in the sandpit and running through the water spouting from the garden sprinkler. We propose installing a 10m x 12m sandpit over the sadly neglected water feature at Britomart. The sandpit would contain oversized props… • bucket (2m high) • spade (3m high) • sandcastle (able to be walked through by smaller children) • sun umbrella (4m diameter) Each of these would be illuminated, so as to keep the installation alive through the night and in doing so, entertain an adult audience. We would supply and replenish a range of sandpit toys and tools throughout the daytime so as to encourage children to play in the sandpit. We would like (if possible) to pipe the existing water spouts up through the sand so that the water falls onto the sand on hot afternoons. This would add another very enjoyable and interactive, dimension for the children as well as keeping the sand moist (essential for sandcastle construction). If this idea is something you wish us to pursue we would need to put the concept through a feasibility test, covering all the how’s, who’s, what’s and how much. LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
14
If the idea proves to be feasible, I would then seek sponsorship to enhance the quality of the installation.
Draft Budget
Total
Key Partners: Bluewater, Fabric Shelters, Show Light and Power
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
15
SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET By Simon Marler A series of texts and photographic installations in the Auckland CBD dealing with forgotten history of Aotearoa’s most influential “livingroom”. The livingroom is that part of the home where family life unfolds in all it’s multitude of joys and sorrows. The history of the family, both hidden and celebrated, determines the culture of a family. Identity comes from understanding and healing the past. Auckland, known to Maori as Tamaki Makau Rau, (Isthmus of a Thousand Lovers), was the scene of the first execution of a Maori, Wiremu Kingi Maketu in 1842, most likely conducted in the City’s first prison, on the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets. Auckland was the venue for Waterfront Strikes in 1913, which saw mounted “specials” riding through the city from their camp at the Domain to break up the strike with battens. In 1932, the Depression Riot, saw a mass of unemployed workers fighting police outside the Town Hall and looting shops from Queen St to Karangahape Rd. With the influx of colonists the Isthmus of a Thousand Lovers became a seething trading port and den of iniquity, characterised by Sailor’s taverns, brothels, opium dens, and poor workers’ housing. England was transplanted on the landscape, and the harbour edge driven back by land “reclamations”. Installation features: Text on Pavement, noting notorious venues and events. Archival photographs placed in shop windows, or printed as posters, with captions, relating to specific parts of the CBD. Created contextual photographs (i.e. mature indigenous bush before clearance) Could include: Sponsored billboard, video projection, LCD multi photo screens. Proposed Timeframe:
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
16
Research Progressive Installation De-installation
February 2006 March 15- 21 May 31, 2006
Issues: Historical & Archival photo research. Reproduction with permission of archival material. Permission from Shops to use windows and surfaces. Permission from council to use surfaces (posters & pavement text) Removal of Pavement Text and Posters Maintenance of Sites, particularly Posters. Sponsorship for billboard and technology options.
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
17
Estimated Budget Draft Budget Research Production overheads (phone, courier, transport) Photo Reproductions Installation materials Posters Pavement Text Calligraphy New Image production Digital projector and laptop hire/ electricity Flyer Catalogue Production Maintenance and Removal Total Simon Marler 28 October 2005 7 Daventry St, Waterview, Auckland. 021 2530972/ simonmarler@xtra.co.nz
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
18
DURHAM LIGHTS By Pitsch Leiser/Fleur Palmer
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
19
MUSICAL BUS STOPS
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
20
LIVING
ROOM
Proverbial Auckland
TABLE
OF
Engages public and adds life and buzz to the city at street level.
Supports Auckland’s unique identity and Pacific Flavour, and contributes to a sense of place
Located on pavements all over Auckland Aotea square
Cultural identity Pacific Proverbs
EVENTS Involves Maori and other ethnic minority groups
Geared specificaly towards children and youth
yes
All
yes
All
Axminster Along Queen Street and K Road
Morning Tea
Outside Britomart Inside Britomart, Farmers shop windows + K road
Pallet Maze Multicultimedia
yes yes Faces from all cultures
yes yes
Castles in the sand Skeletons in the Closet
Along Queen Street and K Road
Durham lights
Durham Lane
yes
Effectiveness public impact
Ease of implement ation, technical difficulty security, permits.
Collaborative partners
Cost
Easy Moderate
Some
Easy
Some
Hard
Some
Moderate
Some
Hard
All
Moderate
Some
Moderate
Musical Bus Stops Marketing TOTAL
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD Š Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
21
LIVING
ROOM
SCHEDULE December 1
2
3
OF
EVENTS
Jan 4
1
2
3
Feb 4
1
2
3
March 4
1
2
3
April 4
1
2
3
May 4
1
2
3
4
Proverbial Auckland th
5 March – 17
th
May
Axminster th
th
19 – 9 April
Morning Tea th
th
Thursdays 9 March, 30 th th March, 20 April, 11 May
Pallet Maze 10
th
th
April – 21 April
Multicultimedia th
rd
10 – 23 April
Castles in the Sand th
th
th
5 – 19 or 26 March end date tbc
Skeletons in the Closet st
15-21 March – 17
th
May
Durham Lights 30
th
th
April – 19 May
Musical Bus Stops 15
th
th
March – 9 May
LIVING ROOM
PROPOSAL FOR A STREET LEVEL PROGRAMME FOR AUCKLAND CBD © Pitsch Leiser & Fleur Palmer unless otherwise stated 30 September 2005
22