Neon squares of perspex have overrun Kirsten Newton’s garage. They’re a work in progress for the annual Devonport Arts Festival, which, since the 1950s, has inspired, brightened and gelled a creative community.
From Friday 5th to Sunday 7th April, there will be a dense display of interactive art to engage with in the village. ‘Multiple art forms in various locations’ says the event programme stunningly designed by local talent Sparrow Philips.
‘Polymites’ is the reason behind all the square cut offs Kirsten and her art collaborator Ruth Findlay have been painstakingly sourcing and sawing and storing. The pair formed SPACEINBTWN, a partnership with roots back to their uni days.
“We met when we were both studying in Wellington, back in the 90s,” explains Kirsten. Both were university graduates in interior design, with Ruth going on to work in the architectural field, Kirsten in art. Ruth lives in Castor Bay, having grown up in Birkenhead, attending primary school there, Northcote Intermediate and Westlake Girls’. The women worked on a project together for last year’s PARKing Day in Devonport, where Kirsten has lived for over 10 years. Ruth says: “We thought we should collaborate, so, about a year ago, we formed SPACEINBTWN to bring us together as artists.” And come together they have, at least twice a week, since December, to work on their Polymites project. They began by sourcing off-cuts from a perspex company called PSP in Albany, which would otherwise have gone to waste.
“We went through their bins!” Says Kirsten. “We retrieved long strips of perspex, which we’ve cut down into squares pieces, ranging from 150mm to 1.4 metres. The people at PSP have been amazing. One of the themes of the project is the symbiotic relationship between art and junk.”
The artists have become regulars at The Claystore, off Lake Road. This community workshop facility is used by young and old. During the last four months, Kirsten and Ruth have worked alongside school pupils crafting class projects to 95 year-olds turning wood. “We’ve absolutely loved working there,” says Kirsten. “I’d do the band sawing and Ruth would do the drilling. Brahm, Peter and George have become our new friends at The Claystore. They’d make us stop to join them for tea and biscuit breaks, probably because the sound would become too much after three hours of me on the saw!”
Each piece of perspex has a hole in the centre, to allow them to be threaded onto vertical poles. The art installation will be created by members of the public during the arts festival weekend. The idea is that the perspex squares become towers, which will also be illuminated after dark.
“We like the idea that people are coming together to create it,” says Ruth. “There’s a togetherness in its creation - the community is making it themselves.”
The name Polymites came from the use of perspex, made up of polymers, to create art forms resembling stalagmites. Kirsten says: “It is symbolic of the way rubbish is growing on our planet, instead of the beautiful natural minerals of stalagmites.”
The installation will be centred around the under-utilised Band Rotunda next to Devonport Library.
Event organiser Toni van Tonder, also the Devonport Business Association Business Improvement District Manager, was keen to breathe new life into this part of the village. “It’s such a beautiful old band rotunda we have here in Devonport, and no one ever uses it. It seemed a great place to bring art to this year.” Toni has been behind the arts festival for several years and is looking forward to the three days of art activations in the village, made possible by sponsors Harcourts Devonport, Devonport Business Association and the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. From sketching classes, to kids art making workshops, gallery exhibitions to comedy and magic shows, the event has an array of arts-themed activities and attractions, including a Saturday night performance by locally based, much-loved The Wonderfish Collective at The Vic, complete with 14-piece string orchestra.
Toni says: “Devonport Arts Festival is an event that has such longevity in our community, from the 1950s, through the decades, to today. It’s a community event that profiles local artists and engages members of our community. And it’s going to make Devonport a lively and activated place this April.”
For the full programme of events, head to www.devonportartsfestival.co.nz
