August’s LATE at the Auckland Museum, held last night, was a showcase of the talents and passion of staff and students from the University of Auckland. Titled ‘From a Ripple to a Swell’, the event mixed art, music dance and science…
August’s LATE at the Auckland Museum, held last night, was a showcase of the talents and passion of staff and students from the University of Auckland.
Titled ‘From a Ripple to a Swell’, the event mixed art, music dance and science to discuss water – beaches, streams, rivers, the sea – culturally significant sites for all New Zealanders.
The panel discussion, always a highlight of these evenings that have become such a fixture on Auckland’ s cultural calendar, was hosted by thespian Oliver Driver, who deftly directed a fascinating discourse between Head of the Leigh Marine Laboratory and self-confessed Shore boy, Professor John Montgomery, National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries faculty member and expert in ecotoxicology and low-impact urban design, Dr Marjorie Van Roon, and Dance Studies lecturer and dramaturg Dr Alys Longley. Longley is one of the principle investigators in a University of Auckland-funded project that seeks to examine the role of water in a sustainable city via an art-science collaboration.
The discussion was followed by opportunities to visit the critically acclaimed AQUA exhibition, and to wander the various galleries in search of music and art that explored our relationship to water. As always, the enthusiastic and diverse crowd seemed to enjoy immensely the chance to get to grips with difficult ideas, experience art and music, and quaff a glass or two of wine with like-minded people.
Thread loved the passion and zest for the topic expressed by Alys Longley, who deftly dealt with Driver’s questioning of the role of the arts in a discussion of water quality and the environment.
Next month’s LATE promises more dynamic discussion – if water is a culturally significant site, then rugby, the topic of the September LATE, to be held on Thursday 1 September 2011, must be a culturally significant act. Come along in September to see great talkers and thinkers wrestle with the importance of rugby in 21st Century New Zealand life.
By Kate Hannah, 4 August 2011
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