MEDIA RELEASE
18 February 2013
Auckland Arts Festival 2013, in association with Voyager NZ Maritime Museum, Auckland Art Gallery - Toi o Tāmaki,
Auckland Museum, Central City Library - Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero and Art in the Dark present
White Night
6pm to Midnight, Saturday 16 March
Various locations across Auckland
BE SPELLBOUND BY AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL’S FREE ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA
Auckland Arts Festival’s brilliant night of nights White Night is back again after a hugely successful inaugural event
in 2011. On Saturday 16 March, over 60 of Auckland’s galleries, museums and arts spaces will be open between 6pm and
midnight. Art projects and performances will spill into public spaces, with free buses scheduled to help people squeeze
in as much activity as possible.
Galleries and arts spaces right across Auckland - from Devonport to Pakuranga, Western Springs to Mangere as well as the
central city and arts-rich surrounding suburbs - will stay open long after the sun goes down. First-time gallery-goers
and arts connoisseurs alike will have the opportunity to experience a rich variety of curated exhibitions and
installations, live music, artist talks, new media and interactive works, and specially-programmed performances.
Auckland Arts Festival Artistic Director, Carla van Zon says, “White Night is a unique opportunity for people to
experience art in a new light, and explore a city brought to life by art. It’s a time when doors are opened, barriers
are broken down, and art is available to everyone. Bring your friends and family and discover Auckland afresh, or take a
solo journey through the city and its secrets.”
FREE hop-on-hop-off buses will run throughout White Night, running on Central City, Eastern, Western and Southern
routes. For details about these routes and their stop-off points, pick up a copy of the White Night brochure at any
participating White Night venue, or visit http://www.aaf.co.nz/events/white-night.aspx.
For a full list of the events and activities taking place across Auckland and a breakdown of participating venues and
activities by region and theme, please see the White Night brochure, out this week at all participating galleries and
venues, and on www.aaf.co.nz
Of the 100+ individual exhibitions and events by more than 200 artists, some of Auckland Arts Festival 2013’s White
Night highlights include:
THE BEST OF ART IN THE DARK
The monumentally successful Art in the Dark lights up selected White Night venues with creative projects from some of New Zealand’s most innovative artists,
including Tiffany Singh’s mesmerising wind chimes at the Auckland Museum.
1000 LOVERS
An extraordinary performance work choreographed by Carol Brown tracing Auckland’s waterfront from the sea to the city
with mythical men and women. Pick up headphones on the night or download the soundtrack in advance. Starts at Silo Park
at 6.30pm and 8pm
POI SPECTACULAR
Acclaimed kapa haka groups from around Tāmaki Makaurau join forces in this hauntingly-lit mass poi performance,
choreographed and directed by Kura Te Ua. Festival Garden, Aotea Square, 10.30pm (it follows the performance of Everything is Ka Pai).
PARLOUR COMPLAINTS CHOIR
This delightful choir, specially formed for White Night, have turned real complaints from the public into original and
hilariously entertaining compositions. These will be performed in random pop-up performances across Auckland and on the
free White Night buses with a final performance in the Festival Garden, Aotea Square, 11.45pm.
THE COLOUR OF OUR COMMUNITY
Add the finishing touches to the largest mural in the South Pacific, wrapped around the Ponsonby’s Vinegar Lane
development, until recently an abandoned development site. Crummer Road, Ponsonby, 6-8pm.
FINGER KNITTING IN CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY
Learn the creative potential of finger knitting in a workshop with Auckland jeweller Sinead Jury. Two sessions will be
held between 6-8.30pm and 9-11pm at Masterworks Gallery.
TURRET TOURS
Take a tour of the usually out-of-bounds Pah Homestead at regular intervals between 7.30 and 11.30pm.
PARNELL goes all out with street-based interactive arts projects from emerging and established artists spread throughout the
village and its courtyards.
KINGDOM – NZTRIO
The innovative NZTrio perform the original composition by David Downes – Kingdom – an animated film with live music and black humour. Auckland Art Gallery – Toi o Tāmaki, 8 and 9pm
Elam at the Central City Library: THAT’S FUNNY
Anti-loitering tactics, a mini-golf course, live sound acts and digital haikus overrun the Library when Elam School of
Fine Arts students take the creative reins. Central City Library – Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, 6pm-midnight
GLOW IN THE DARK UNDERWATER WORLD
Illuminated seaside family activities including storytelling, photography and night-time sailings. Voyager Maritime
Museum, 4.30pm to midnight
MOANA/CULTURE CLASH/THE LIVE ROOM AND PRAYAS THEATRE INDIAN BAND
Pacific dance, African beats, hip-hop and circus – TAPAC arrives on White Night with a night of music, dance and theatre
for the whole family – bring your picnic rug and some dancing feet!
TAPAC, Western Springs, 6pm-midnight
POT LUCK in Devonport and the EXPERIMENTAL BAKERY in Remuera
Two neighbourhoods new to White Night strike a culinary pose blending art and food in unexpected ways.
EVENT DETAILS
Event White Night 2013
Where Across the Auckland region –see the White Night brochure for details
When Saturday 16 March
Duration 6pm – midnight
Price The majority of White Night events and activities are free – see the White Night brochure for details
Informationhttp://www.aaf.co.nz/events/white-night.aspx
Social Media Facebook: facebook.com/Aklfestival
Twitter: @Aklfestival #aafwhitengt
Media enquiries Siobhan Waterhouse, Publicist
P: +64 (0)9 374 0317 | M: +64 (0) 22 126 4149
*Image credit: Elizabeth Clarkson
ABOUT THE AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL
The Auckland Arts Festival is Auckland's premier festival of New Zealand and international arts. The globally-recognised
event celebrates people and culture, and showcases the unrivalled location and landscape, cultural diversity and vibrant
energy of New Zealand’s largest city.
Since the inaugural event in 2003, the Auckland Arts Festival has welcomed over a million attendees. For 19 magical days
in March, Auckland Arts Festival 2013 will bring the Auckland region to life once again with creations from some of the
country’s most innovative artists and performers alongside a sensational assemblage of internationals.
With over 60 individual events that have been carefully selected or specially created, comprising performances,
exhibitions, installations, seminars, workshops and family activities, the Auckland Arts Festival 2013 programme offers
anyone keen to ignite their creative spirit a unique chance to experience the arts in unexpected ways.
Auckland Arts Festival is governed by the Auckland Festival Trust and the Board chaired by Victoria Carter. Trustees are
Rick Carlyon, Roger MacDonnell, Toni Millar, Jim Moser, John Judge, Heather Shotter and Fred Ward.
The Trust receives core funding from Auckland Council through the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act, and from
Creative New Zealand through the Toi Tōtara Haemata programme.
The Festival’s executive team is Artistic Director Carla van Zon and Chief Executive David Inns.
Significant support for the Auckland Arts Festival 2013 is received from the ASB Community Trust, NZ Major Events, The
Lion Foundation and Pub Charity; Gold Sponsors Westpac and Colenso BBDO; Silver Sponsors Auckland Airport and Classic
Hits; and other sponsors, patrons and donors.