West Harbour Arts Charitable Trust

20 May 2022

Funding Stories
 

The West Harbour Arts Charitable Trust is a non-profit organisation that fosters and promotes the Arts in Dunedin’s West Harbour community, who have for the past 25 years run an annual residency and art parade in West Harbour schools and early childhood centres.

Otago Community Trust has provided funding support to this programme for a number of years. In 2021 a $2,000 grant was approved to support the programme and art parade.  It was great to hear that despite the disruptions of COVID the programme still was a great success.

In 2021, rather than cancel the parade to comply with Covid-19 public health guidelines, artists Anya Sinclair and Aroha Novak got them to think smaller instead.

Because the customary parade was unable to go ahead, the children made mixed-media sculptures of forest creatures and helped to construct a stage with several backdrops and a manually turned conveyer belt which was then filmed in motion with a soundtrack created by the children.

It is pleasing to hear that a key benefit of this amended project was the opportunity for the young learners to witness and participate in the production of a digital artwork. The auidence also enjoyed the digital format highlighting how it became more inclusive for all children, disability-friendly way for all tamariki to be involved. It was also able to be distributed more widely to friends and family who wouldn't have been able to attend a parade.

"We had many comments on the success of the film and the enjoyment that families took in watching it together at home. It was able to be distributed more widely to friends and family who wouldn't have been able to attend a parade. On display in the local library over the end of year and summer holiday period, the film had the opportunity to reach community members who may not otherwise have come into contact with the work."

The video features three scenes which are based on Māori creation mythology, where Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother) are seperated and light is created. Te Kore is nothingness, Te Pō is darkness/potential and Te Ao Mārama is the world of light.