Tyson Campbell has kicked off his three-year tenure as SCAPE’s new managing curator with a lineup of eight artists handpicked to bring a new perspective to the 25-year-old festival of public art in central Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Tyson, a curator and artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau, has worked in grassroots and institutional contemporary art settings. His work focuses on how the clash that can occur between indigenous ways of knowing and the approach of institutions can be resolved through respectful communication.

“I chose these artists because their practices have a new perspective and are tied to power and place,” Tyson says. “They each provide compelling autobiographical narratives of how art can be presented in public.”

The festival, which opens on 25 November and runs for 12 weeks, includes several multi-disciplinary artists:

• Tāmaki Makarau-based Denise Porter-Howland, who works primarily with ceramics.
• Susu, a Taiwanese artist also living in Auckland who produces interdisciplinary works in digital production, moving image, drawing and installation
• Tūī Matira Ranapiri-Ransfield, a direct descendant of Kāi Tahupōtiki chiefs Kōrako, Taiaroa, Haereroa and Karetai. A performing artist, creator and composer, Tūi intends to produce a sculptural work alongside the Ōtakaro Avon River that speaks to the rich Māori history of the Taumutu-Waitaha Canterbury area.

They are joined by two young artists at the early stage of their careers:

• Maioha Kara, a Pōneke-based artist whose practice draws on Te Ao Māori narratives.
• Ming Ranginui, also based in Pōneke, who reimagines everyday objects into sculptures, often dressed in satin and her signature smocking.

Some of the artists take inspiration from their communities, like Synthia Bahati, a photographic artist who grew up as part of the African community in Auckland. Her work is informed by fashion and driven by the people around her as well as her own experience of Blackness living in Tāmaki Makarau.

Ōtautahi Christchurch artist Priscilla Rose Howe, who is also this season’s Community Engaged Artist, creates figurative works that explore ideas around queerness and phenomenology, and plans to create space for queer communities through their Season 2023 artwork.

Finally, Te Ara Minhinnick is a ringatoi (artist) with roots in Waiuku who constructs installations that interweave the area’s historical, political, and material matter of whenua (land), uku (clay), and wai (water).

The theme Tyson gave the artists for their SCAPE project is ‘The Gift’. He sees this as an invitation for people to consider the material, symbolic and metaphorical possibilities of gift-giving within communities.

“It’s something that can be interpreted in terms of capitalism and the pressure of gift-giving linked to the public holidays and personal celebrations that emerge throughout the year,” he says.

“Symbolically speaking, a gift can also be something like imparting knowledge to a descendant, or a relational gift – like a really good mentor who can change the way you see the world. ‘The Gift’ is an exchange of things between people and it is with this theme that I hope to broaden and extend the possibilities of gifting.” 

Tyson is excited by the opportunities the season presents. “Their SCAPE projects give these artists opportunities to expand their practice outside of the galleries and to think about how public space can materially transform their skill set.”

SCAPE executive director Richard Aindow expects to see some thought-provoking artworks produced and is plotting ways to connect the community around them.

“Many of the artists have strong messages to convey with their work and we don’t plan on being quiet about it,” he says. “Their gift to the community will be multi-faceted: bringing groups and communities together, inspiring playfulness, generating conversations, even pushing comfort zones.”

The eight artworks will make up a public walkway around the central city. A programme of free public events and experiences, including guided walking tours of the artworks, will be available to book throughout the season, and residents and visitors can explore the city’s permanent artwork collection on SCAPE’s legacy artwork walkway all year round.

The 2023 season will also feature two sculptural and two mural artworks from the winners of the Re:ACTIVATE Aspiring Artists competition, open to young people aged 5 – 18 from around Canterbury. Always a crowd favourite, the Re:ACTIVATE programme gives young people an opportunity to respond to the season’s theme and have their work produced for public display in The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora.

SCAPE Public Art’s 12-week festival of free-to-view public art runs from 25 November to 17 February 2024 in central Ōtautahi Christchurch.

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