An empty window on Dunedin’s main street is set to bring a new creative spark to the city. White Box @ Fringe HQ is a
new initiative from the Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust to showcase the work of talented local artists, and to encourage the
public to engage with the visual arts.
Situated at 26 Princes Street, White Box is a white-walled window gallery in the front of the Fringe HQ office. The
highly visible street-facing window is right next to the Octagon and attracts hundreds of people daily who are simply
walking by.
In keeping with the inclusive kaupapa of Dunedin Fringe, the core aim of White Box is to support and showcase a diverse
range of engaging visual arts projects in an accessible environment. This provides a chance for arts practitioners,
students, writers, curators and community projects to present work free from commercial and criterion restraints. As
well as offering an opportunity to a variety of local artists, White Box intends to break through preconceived ideas of
what art is, demonstrating to the public the diversity of work that can fall under the label ‘visual art.’
The next exhibition features Heramaahina Eketone, a passionate teacher of mahi toi/Māori art at Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
The painting, entitledIkarangi (the galaxy), combines astrological science with Māori knowledge. Eketone explains that the work depicts the axial
precession of the equinoxes, where both the north and south poles move in a circular direction. A weaving pattern
represents every individual thread that comes together to create our universe, right down to the very carbon atoms made
inside the stars.
Part of the exhibition line-up for White Box are the following Otepoti artists:
o Emily Davidson – multimedia artist and recent Otago Polytechnic graduate
o Hannah Johnston – multimedia artist and artistic director for the Dunedin Midwinter Carnival
o Phillip Jarvis – acclaimed ceramicist known for quirky and inventive work
o Lucy Winton – White Box coordinator, Fringe administrative worker and sculptural artist
o Leyton Glen – award-winning sound artist working across numerous fields
o Anet Neutz – works across mediums including painting, collage, drawing & embroidery
Much like the Fringe Festival, White Box’s key purpose is to get people excited and involved with art through its highly
public location, and to support the work of a range of artists.
Heramaahina Eketone’s ‘Ikarangi’ will be on display from July 9th – 29th.
ends