26 Jan ArtsMad Tuesday 9 February 2021
ArtsMad
Quick-fire talks from the arts community
ArtsMad is a visual presentation evening that takes place four times a year, where people from the wider arts community talk about what they do alongside a rolling show reel of interesting images.
The evening takes place at The Monarch Room at Prince’s Gate Hotel and explores all areas of the arts… and more. You will hear passionate and inspirational talks from members of our community delivering a veritable roller-coaster rise on a variety of topics.
Featuring up to eight speakers who each have 20 images and only 6 minutes to present them. It’s guaranteed to be a fast-paced, engaging experience!
It is a great opportunity to get together with others who are passionate about a creative and vibrant Rotorua, and to connect about creative happenings in this event for all ages.
Entry is a gold coin koha. Nibbles are provided with cash bar available.
Tuesday 9 February 2020, 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Monarch Room, Prince’s Gate Hotel, Rotorua
Katie Hoy
Katie Hoy is a photographer, artist and mother.
This year she has been working on a project called 100 Women Rotorua, a series of portraits that seeks to visually represent the female population of our city based on census statistics of age, ethnicity and place of birth.
The portraits will intentionally represent our diverse population, highlight the make-up of our community and celebrate women in all of their capacities.
The exhibition will be shown at Rotorua Lakes Council Galleria from March 4th 2021. Katie lives and works in Rotorua.
www.facebook.com/katiehoy.photographer
www.instagram.com/katiehoy.photographer
Natascha Hartzuiker
As a self-proclaimed “Jack of all trades and a master of none” it has been exciting to rediscover my passion for film-based photography during my January month-long Rotorua Summer Pop-Up Residency at The Arts Village. Getting back into the darkroom and trying out some of my old cameras has given me a whole new perspective and focus. Photo was taken by Annette with a pin-hole camera.
www.instagram.com/photos_by_natascha
Vanessa McWilliams
Vanessa McWilliams is a Rotorua-based fashion designer who recently completed a graduate diploma in Creative entrepreneurship at Toi Ohomai. With a strong background of hand crafts learnt at a young age, Vanessa is mostly self-taught with her main focus on creating unique hand-knitted garments. She spends most of her time creating custom garments under her womenswear label, Magpieness, alongside creating pieces that are in the realm of wearable art. Her work stems from a love of finding a use for unwanted “ugly” clothing and draws aesthetic inspiration from fashions of the mid-20th century. Vanessa’s latest works explore the transformation of recycled textiles into something unexpected or an object of beauty.
Jessica Newman
Artist of 21 years and author of The Journey Project – a creative and interactive exploration into mental wellness. Likes to create visual stories that are relevant, uplifting and have the potential to change communities for the better!
www.facebook.com/jessicanewman.thejourneyproject
Razor Taser Laser
Street Artist
Razor Taser Laser, is a self taught stencil and spray artist, drawn to this art form from travelling the world and experiencing cities, spaces, and subcultures.
See where it all began and witness a sneak peak into the mind and world of a stencil graffiti artist.
Razor Taser Laser will also be selling artworks and currently has a joint exhibition – “Can, Camera, Ink” – on at The Arts Village. The exhibition is following on from a month-long Pop-Up Residency at The Arts Village.
www.instagram.com/razortaserlaser
Jennifer Wicks
Jennifer Wicks is the owner/operator of Drama Kids Rotorua, a highly sought after Speech, Drama and Theatre programme for students aged 5-18+. Drama Kids has been operating since 2010 and currently operates out of Shambles Theatre. Jennifer also takes private Speech and Drama lessons at John Paul College one day a week.
Jennifer has always had a passion for The Arts and for mentoring young people. She has directed a number of successful charity showcases and student productions. She also enjoys performing in local plays and play readings when her schedule allows.
www.facebook.com/dramakidsrotorua
Smithy James Sarah
Smithy is an artist that is heavily inspired by Japanese manga, comics and video games. He has been creating art ever since he could put pencil to paper.
He studied at Toi Ohomai and graduated with a bachelors in Creative Technology, focusing on digital illustration and animation.
He was one of the artists on the January month-long Rotorua Summer Pop-Up Residency at The Arts Village. He is currently part of the “Can, Camera, Ink” a joint exhibition of the Residency Artists, open until 19 February at The Arts Village.
www.instagram.com/sleepingboi.art
Matt Cooper
Lake Rotoma local Matt Cooper, has been a chef for 30 years working all over New Zealand and Australia.
Losing his job during a restructure prompted by the 2020 Covid pandemic, gave him the opportunity to develop a new enterprise.
Filling a gap in the market to provide gourmet home delivered affordable meals, for local community, Matt’s new enterprise Social Eats was launched in July 2020.
In October 2020 Restaurant Association of New Zealand launched The Restaurant Association Resilience Awards –regional awards to acknowledge those who have made a significant contribution in response to the pandemic.
Matt was stoked to be the winner for the Rotorua region’s The Outstanding Innovation Award, an award to honour those in the industry that stepped up showing exception innovation during this time.