Festival Ihimaera Concert To Be Fundraiser For Christchurch

Media Release for Immediate Release
Monday 28 February 2011

Auckland Arts Festival ‘Ihimaera’ Concert To Be Fundraiser For Christchurch

Proceeds from the Friday 4 March Ihimaera concert, featuring King Kapisi, Warren Maxwell, SJD, Lupin (Victoria Girling-Butcher), LA Mitchell, Unitone Hi Fi, Ruia Aperahama, Horomona Horo, Ariana Tikao, The Twinks (Milan Borich and Tim Arnold ex-PLUTO), Teremoana Rapley, Charlotte Yates and Kirk Torrance, will be donated to the NZ Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal.

When 12 of New Zealand’s top recording acts take to the Genesis Energy Stage in Manukau this Friday, they want to look out into a full auditorium. This performance of Ihimaera, one of the opening acts of Auckland Arts Festival 2011, is being turned into a fundraiser for the people of Christchurch.

With the support of writer Witi Ihimaera, producer Charlotte Yates, and the venue management and ticketing agency involved in the concert, a long-standing part of the Festival’s programme, Festival organizers are donating 100% of the box office for the March 4 concert.

Audiences coming to other events at the Festival, which opens on Wednesday, will have plenty of other opportunities to donate to Christchurch, in the Festival Garden in Aotea Square, and at the other two performances of Ihimaera, which are not run as benefits.

“Auckland Arts Festival’s links to Christchurch are very strong, both through the arts community, and on a personal and individual level,” says Chief Executive David Inns.

“Like all New Zealanders, we have been shocked by the terrible events taking place in Christchurch, and like others, since last Tuesday, have been looking for ways to help.”

Tickets for the fundraiser performance will be sold for $27.50* ($10 with a valid Student IDand organizers say they hope the special price for a concert which previously had a top ticket price of $57.50, will ensure everyone has the opportunity to get involved. (*Booking fees may apply.)

The original inspiration behind the concert, writer Witi Ihimaera, says:

"The concert will be our way of saying we love you, we want to support you, and we are all one iwi.

"What an honour to be able to help in this way, with a concert dedicated to all our family, friends and those from overseas who are grieving over this terrible tragedy. Our way will be to sing for them, and I hope that they will be able to hear us down there because we'll be singing our hearts out."

“The Ihimaera concert is itself a celebration of New Zealand storytelling, history and creativity, performed by artists from around the country,” says Auckland Arts Festival Artistic Director David Malacari.

“This fundraiser performance is a practical way of helping Christchurch but also an opportunity for Kiwis to get together and share their sorrow for what has happened to Canterbury, and express their solidarity through music.”

“Since last Tuesday, we have received messages of support and concern from artists who are on their way to Auckland for the Festival, and expect many of the international acts will want to be involved in fundraising during their time in New Zealand.”

One of the headline New Zealand productions in Auckland Arts Festival 2011, Ihimaera is a stellar concert of 12 songs with lyrics by Witi Ihimaera and music by a who’s who of Kiwi artists. Kirk Torrance (Outrageous Fortune) provides a linking narrative between the songs. Ihimaera is an Auckland Arts Festival commission, produced by Charlotte Yates with support from Auckland Airport, Creative New Zealand, ASB Community Trust, and Te Puni Kōkiri. The Ihimaera CD is available now on the Universal label.

Tickets to the March 4 benefit are on sale through Ticket Direct (Phone 09 976 9777 or 0800 224 224www.ticketdirect.co.nz) and at the box office of the Genesis Energy Theatre, TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre.

Auckland Arts Festival Ihimaera Fundraiser for Christchurch

Friday 4 March at 8pm

Genesis Energy Theatre
TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre
770 Great South Road
Manukau

Tickets cost $27.50 full price, $10.00 student price (valid Student ID required)
Purchase tickets through Ticket Direct: Phone 09 976 9777 or 0800 224 224www.ticketdirect.co.nz or at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre box office.

Key Points:
• All proceeds (100%) from ticket sales for the March 4 Ihimaera concert will be donated to the NZ Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal.
• Only GST and applicable ticketing charges will be deducted from the ticket price.
• Special ticket prices of $27.50* full and $10.00* student apply only to the benefit concert on March 4. (*Booking fees may apply.)
• $10 from each Ihimaera CD sold on the night will go to the Appeal. CD’s cost $25 each.
• The other two performances of Ihimaera on March 3 (Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall) and March 5 (Genesis Energy Theatre, TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre) are not benefit concerts and the usual ticket prices apply.

ABOUT AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL

Auckland Arts Festival is the region’s biggest celebration of arts and culture. The biennial Festival, which began in 2003, will celebrate its fifth birthday in 2011 with a dazzling line-up of more than 75 separate events involving over 500 artists – concerts, productions, arts exhibitions, and programmes of seminars, workshops and family activities.

The Festival’s hallmark blend of serious, innovative work and broad appeal events, plus an accessible ticketing policy, ensure that it is a celebration for the whole region. Major Festival events take place all across the city – in West Auckland, The North Shore, and South Auckland and in the central city – as well as site-specific sculptural works that respond to our unique geography.

Since its inception, Auckland Arts Festival has built a reputation for presenting top quality work from around the world, including a spectacular fireworks display by pyrotechnic artists Groupe F, theatrical masterworks by Japanese company Ishinha, and the legendary Robert Lepage’s company Ex Machina, and sell-out cabaret sensation La Clique. The Festival prides itself on developing and presenting the very best in New Zealand work, including the magical 2009 theatre piece, The Arrival, which has become an international success story, The Songmaker’s Chair, by Albert Wendt, and the Michael Parmenter retrospective, Commotion.

Auckland Arts Festival is governed by the Auckland Festival Trust, a board chaired by Victoria Carter. Trustees are Rick Carlyon, John Judge, Roger MacDonnell, Toni Millar, Jim Moser, Ilona Rodgers, Heather Shotter and Fred Ward. The Festival’s executive team is Artistic Director David Malacari and CEO David Inns.

Sponsorship is crucial to presenting an event of this size. Major Sponsors and Funders for 2011 include Core Funder: Auckland Council; Gold Sponsors: New Zealand Post Group, TV3 and Colenso BBDO; Key Funding Partners: Creative New Zealand, ASB Community Trust, The Lion Foundation, Pub Charity, THE EDGE and Heart of the City; Silver Sponsors: Westpac, Auckland Airport, The Radio Network and Stoneleigh; Bronze Sponsors: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Formica, Wilson Parking, Russell McVeagh and OGGI.

David Malacari - Artistic Director
David Malacari has over 30 years experience in the cultural sector in various roles with some of the region’s leading theatre and dance companies. David worked for the Adelaide Festival for over 12 years, and directed and produced festivals of Australian performing arts in India, New Horizons (1996), and London, Heads Up (2000). He has written work for cabaret, presented film and book reviews, produced and directed corporate documentaries, and toured extensively as a lighting designer and production manager with many companies including The Sydney Dance Company and the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre. David joined the Festival in late 2004, and was Festival Director for three Auckland Festivals; 2005, 2007 and 2009.

David Inns - Chief Executive
David Inns joined the Festival in 2009 when the position of Festival Director was split into two roles; Artistic Director and Chief Executive. David has more than 25 years experience in senior arts administration roles, internationally and within New Zealand. He was Chief Executive of the New Zealand International Arts Festival Trust (2002-2009), Executive Director of the Taranaki Arts Festival (1998-2002) and Technical Director of Assembly Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the annual Edinburgh Festival (1995-2002). He was part of the team which secured WOMAD for Taranaki and was the event’s Technical Director. David has a background in teaching and a lifelong involvement in and passion for the arts.

Victoria Carter LLB - Chair,
Victoria Carter has a law degree and over 25 years experience in communications, business and public relations. As an Auckland City Councilor in 1998, Victoria helped get the Festival restarted, and has been an active Trustee since 2001. An Accredited Director of the Institute of Directors, she is a Director of JUCY Rentals, Kidicorp and Auckland Racing Club. Victoria is an enthusiast for the vital contribution a Festival makes, economically and culturally, and in many other ways to create a livable city.

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