Calling all Asian Creatives

Arts Whau is leading a free practical workshop for Auckland based Asian creatives and arts producers to develop ideas for arts experiences in public spaces led by Rosabel Tan, Eric Ngan, Sharu Delilkan and Melissa Laing. The idea is to help grow Asian led arts projects and activations in public spaces in Auckland.

We’d like to help bridge the gap between your initial amazing idea and its final form in a public space, which can be a daunting prospect.

Have you ever wondered where do you start, how do you develop your idea? And have you been curious about how other people get support and funding for their projects. If you’ve answered ‘Yes’ to any or all of the questions, this workshop is for you.

To help facilitate this process we’ve assembled a group of four experienced artists and arts producers to share their past work and lead a practical workshop aimed at getting you over the first hump - developing your project plan. Rosabel Tan, Eric Ngan, Sharu Delilkan and Melissa Laing will share their past work and discuss idea development, audience and participant engagement as well as budget development and securing funding.

All you need to do is come ready with an idea to develop and over the course of the session you’ll get to workshop it in conversation with our guest producers and your peers.

At the end of the workshop participants should have the concrete outline of a project they can be further developed to pitch to festivals, pop-up projects and to Auckland’s arts brokers as well as to the Auckland Diversity Fund, Creative Communities, Auckland Council Community Grants, and Creative NZ.

What do we mean by arts experiences in public spaces?

You may have noticed an explosion in temporary arts activities and activations happening in public spaces around Auckland and New Zealand. They’re popping up in streets, parks, town centres, community facilities and empty shops. They’re building the local creative culture, connectedness and community through taking the arts to people. They range from events, performances, workshops, and co-making projects to temporary installations and exhibitions. You can see what NZ groups have done so far here: www.satellites.co.nz/, www.artswhau.org.nz, whauthepeople.com, www.neighbourhoodarts.org.nz/, www.mangereotahuhuarts.org.nz/, www.lettingspace.org.nz, gapfiller.org.nz, www.pop.org.nz/, urbandreambrokerage.org.nz/.

Who are these amazing people?

Rosabel Tan is the founding editor of arts and culture journal The Pantograph Punch and director of Satellites, a series of public encounters that showcase the most exciting contemporary Asian artists in Tāmaki Makaurau. In addition to this, she has worked with a range of arts organisations as a research consultant on their audience development strategies, including Auckland Art Gallery, City Gallery, Creative New Zealand, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, the State Library of Queensland and the National Gallery of Singapore.

Eric Ngan is Trustee of the Oryza Foundation for Asian Performing Arts and event producer with ATEED, Auckland Council. Since 2012 he has delivered and coordinated the annual Auckland Diwali Festival and the Auckland Lantern Festival. Before that he worked with Te Papa, the Wellington Fringe Festival the Cuba Street Carnival and the New Zealand International Arts Festival. In his spare time he is a visual artist and coordinates the Urban Sketchers Auckland group.

Through Sharu Loves Hats, Sharu Delilkan brings together all the networks and experience she’s gathered over more than three decades. Since moving to Aotearoa in 2002, Sharu Delilkan has worked in any roles including arts journalist/editor for The Aucklander, Special Projects Coordinator for Dance Aotearoa New Zealand and is currently Co-Arts Administrator for NZ Sculpture OnShore. She has produced, publicised and marketed numerous productions since shifting focus from journalist to producer dating back to 2010. The most recent being Dominion Rd The Musical which was funded by the Auckland Diversity Fund. She has a Masters in Arts Management from WhiteCliffe College of Arts and Design and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications (Journalism) from St Cloud State University, USA.

Melissa Laing is the Whau Community Arts Broker, an initiative funded by the Whau Local Board, Auckland Council to support temporary arts activations in Avondale, New Lynn, Kelston, New Windsor, Blockhouse Bay and Green Bay. She works closely with artists and arts organisations to realise hyper-local arts projects in the Whau from graffiti art festivals to sound walks. She has a PhD in contemporary art, is a published writer and has worked as a curator in New Zealand and Germany.

Can I participate?

This opportunity is designed to support and grow Auckland based Asian creatives and arts producers so that we see more Asian led arts projects in our neighbourhoods.

We are using the Auckland Council definition of asian ethnicity which encompasses peoples from China, India, South, South-East and North Asia.

If you or your ancestors identify as coming from one of these regions then sign up here:

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This workshop is realised with the support of the Whau Local Board, who funds temporary arts activations in their suburbs through the Whau Community Arts Broker.