Arts Portfolio (originally submitted 5 Mar 2020)

This has been a really enjoyable month with the opening of the Fringe Festival where I thoroughly enjoyed the sound and light installation Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall, and the New Zealand Dance Company show This Fragile Planet in the Great Hall. I also went to Dr Theatre Makes a Show and The Chicks do Shakespeare both at Q Theatre Vault. The fringe continues, and soon the International Arts Festival launches, with the loss of Place Des Anges due to the Coronavirus making it too difficult and expensive to move the required equipment to Auckland. I am thoroughly looking forward to the rest of the festival. At the time of writing there are three confirmed cases of Coronavirus in New Zealand and the hope is that it can still be contained.

I have also attended the launch of Monster Valley, a new arts space in Karangahape Road and SpaceHub.co.nz, a website that makes it easier for artists to book space for rehearsal, exhibition and performance in the Karangahape Road/ Ponsonby areas. It was discovered that there are plenty of spaces for artists in the inner west but the problem is being able to find one that is appropriate quickly.  Now you can. 

It has also been a good month for free community music events: Uptown Sounds in the natural amphitheatre of Basque Park, and the Myers Park Medley in the central city.