Our curator, Audrey Baldwin, had a chance to talk about how First Thursdays hopes to regenerate the liveliness of our city via creativity and collaboration.
Thanks to Eng Choon Alex Lim for putting together this video, which highlights and contrasts the bustling energy of First Thursdays versus our recovering central city.
We have a series of songstresses playing for an hour each as the night unfolds at The Colombo. Expect dulcet tones, folk favourites and original scores by some of Christchurch's wonderfully talented solo acts. Join us from 5pm for an aural treat!
Emilie Cherie, photo credit: CatsEYE Photography
Emilie Cherie is an acoustic singer/songwriter based in Christchurch. Drawing influence from jazz, blues and folk, she digs into the groove of her guitar and layers it up with smooth vocals.
Bryony Matthews
Bryony Matthews a Christchurch based singer/songwriter who has developed her signature lyrical folk-pop sound which is known to transport the listener.
Sarena Hurley
Sarena Hurley is a multi-talented musician filled with passion and drive. She is also the front woman of Christchurch groove pop band Polo Sweater. For First Thursdays, this versatile artist will be pairing keyboard with her captivating voice.
Artist Toshi Endo works with technology and the moving image in unexpected and often kaleidoscopic ways.
Using projection and image tracking technology, his work for First Thursdays // will transform a vacant shop into a space that holds a mysterious graphic assemblage that makes the familiar strange.
Make sure to stop by Pablo at 383 and peek in the window after dark to get a glimpse of this new work!
Local rockers, EgoValve will be playing a special set at Pennylane Records from 8pm.
Fresh from fighting it out at Battle of the Bands in Auckland, this Christchurch band promises an energetic and engaging performance that will have you moving along to their beat.
The band will be accompanied by the group exhibition They Only Come Out At Night, so Pennylane Records promises to be a hive of activity and offer stimulation from all angles on the night!
For a taste of what's instore, visit their facebook page and see live footage. If you'd like to see more of EgoValve, they have another gig in Sydenham on Friday 9th September.
Philip Trusttum is easily one of New Zealand's most well recognised painters, known for his prolific practice and unbridled output of large scale, expressive works. Trusttum has spent decades creating exuberant images that are both autobiographical, everyday and fantastic - from series' about his grandson's toy trucks to chess games and tennis from a ball's-eye-view. The dynamic, colourful works reflect his personal energy and enthusiasm for painting.
We are honoured and excited to be hosting a new body of work, yet to be shown in Christchurch as part of The Alchemists exhibition. Boo is a riotous parade of paintings of masks that occupy a space between hilarious and horrifying. The work brings to mind the playing of roles, switching up of identities and the role of the artist as entertainer, mystery maker and prankster.
The Alchemists will be open from 5pm on Thursday 4 August. The show runs until August 14 and will showcase the work of over 30 artists from Christchurch and beyond. Not to be missed!
You can't have very well an event called ABRACADABRA without a magician, can you? We are pleased to be presenting Josh Grimaldi as part of our programme!
This home-grown magician and circus performer has wowed audiences at festivals around Europe and the United Kingdom with his quirky humour and charismatic performances.
He's home to roost.... for now!
Josh Grimaldi will be performing his world-touring, all ages street show at The Colombo from 7.30- 8.30pm. Be there to witness his daring acts of escape, illusion and skill!
Fiona Pardington Still Life with wai Hawea 2016
Fiona Pardington has a practice spanning some thirty years and is one of New Zealand's leading photographers. Her work is dark, mysterious, sumptuous and seductive. She plays on art historical traditions; shooting still lifes that have themes of memento mori, desire and the gaze.
Jonathan Smart gallery will be hosting the opening of Supernatural featuring work by this iconic New Zealand artist. The opening begins at 5.30pm. We can't wait to see what they have in store for us!
The largest ever exhibition of Pardington's work is currently on show at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Wai Whetu - well worth a visit to while away an afternoon. Learn more about A Beautiful Hesitation on the gallery's website.
Photo credit: letsgocoyote
Providing both a hub and haven for skaters, graffiti artists and urbanites for many years, Embassy provides an array of clothing, skate gear, shoes, stickers, spraypaint and hilarious conversation for the city savvy.
As part of our winter event, the crew will be heating up the night with Tricks and Trucks - a skate trick competition. Watch the team from Embassy make time disappear as they attempt gravity defying tricks!
From 5.30pm, they welcome skaters of all levels to show off their skills and vie for glory!
Form Gallery continues to bring a wide range of object art to a broad audience. They support emerging as well as established artists in the field of sculpture, jewellery, ceramics and glass.
Form Gallery will be hosting a solo exhibition by neo-rennaisance sculptor Anneke Bester. Her stunning figurative works in bronze will be on show from 3 - 24th August.
"With this exhibition, Anneke explores the contrast of the exposed and the hidden. Where the female form had been celebrated in its purity, Anneke veils them in her latest work. The body of work exhibited explores the conflict of the exposed and the veiled. It challenges our perception of form and beauty by having the nude and the hidden side by side.
Drawing influence from her recent stay in the Middle East, this exhibition aims to portray the concept of beauty and its incapability to be hidden, no matter how well you covered. Beauty shines through on posture, pose, movement and line. Fabric cannot hide the beauty of the spirit within."
Jump on the free bus, which stops just across the road from Form and don't miss this beautiful exhibition!
Catch a rare glimpse into the belly of the beast! Offering a rare opportunity to peek behind the scenes and visit the inner sanctum of artists, the Battersea Studios will be open to the public at part of ABRACADABRA.
Featuring work and works in progress by: Janie Bruce, The Filing Kabinett, Julia Sharp, Martin Sagadin, Olivia Chamberlain, Patrick Barry, Sam Clague, Malcolm Terry, Thomas Hancock, Tim Middleton and more.
This event offers a chance for you to meet the artists and discuss their practice in an intimate setting. The artists work in various media including painting, drawing, sculpture and jewellery.
The free bus will drop you at the corner of Battersea St and Dewsberry Lane. The studios will be open from 5.30pm.
Don't miss this special opportunity!
Thomas Hancock, QU 2015
Tim Middleton, Badmouth 2014
Olivia Chamberlain, Maiden Hair Fern 2015
Janie Bruce Untitled 2014
The Filing Kabinett Bone Pendant
Patrick Barry, I Dreamed You Dreamed About Me 2015
Site and context are key influences on any work by Natalia Saegusa. Taking a cue from the brilliant setting of Annah Stretton - a glamorous store that showcases wonderful dresses for the fiercely feminine contemporary woman, the artist has undertaken a performative installation work that is both tricky, transformative and far more complex than it may first appear.
The title gives a hint at the process behind the work - Screen shot taken from Typewriter Training: "Basic Typing I: Methods" 1943 US Navy Training Filmrecreated using my antares parva typewriter full stop key.
Using her vintage typewriter as a drawing machine, Saegusa will make use of A4 paper and typing ribbon to create a pixelated image taken from found footage. The sheets of paper will be taped in a grid onto the window, creating a Lichtenstein-esque dot drawing using office supplies.
The (female) artist's invisible labour is transformed into a site specific lo-fi magic trick. Using a 1960's typewriter to laboriously transcribe a digital screen-grab into a grandiose analogue image, Saegusa presents the viewer with an image out of time.
There are several transformations taking place here; a conscious back and forth, a conversation across time perhaps. The work flits from the original analogue format to a digital clip on YouTube, from a moving image to a digital still and then back into analogue through the conduit of the artist's body. This series of actions creates something that is both analogue, digital and neither.
There is a sense of nostalgia present both in the artwork and the setting in which it sits. However neither fall into the trap of idealised sentimentality for the past. There is a keen sense of self awareness and framing evident in the work at the site. Annah Stretton may showcase 1950's silhouettes and hyper feminine attire, but as a brand they are strong, assertive, passionate and in control. Saegusa's use of the window as a site brings to mind the conscious construction of self and the act of marketing, displaying and trading on the ideal 'feminine'.
This work plays on the role of technology, language and gender in our lives and the interplay between what is seen and unseen, celebrated and unacknowledged.
Natalia Saegusa’s paintings, drawings, installations and photographs reconsider the state of existing relationships between our experiences of life and the arts. In previous work this has been evident in her use of post-industrial materials and their potential for transformation, establishing new and alternative lives within the space and context of the art gallery. Saegusa was a finalist in the Parkin Drawing Prize in 2013 and 2015 and is currently completing her MA at the Elam School of Fine Arts.
Our maps and brochures will soon be seen all around Sydenham and the city. Grab a copy and familiarise yourself with the fantastic programme for August.
Just one week to go!
We will be going ahead come rain or shine - we'll even have a free bus to help get you from one end of the programme to the other. Bring your best magical get up and prepare to be enchanted by Sydenham!
As a not-for-profit organisation, First Thursdays relies on sponsorship from key partners in the Sydenham community as well as funding from local government. We are working hard to find ways to make this event as self sufficient as possible while retaining our values of paying our commissioned artists and supporting local businesses.
We could not deliver our programme without the support of our amazing sponsors - The Colombo, Powell Fenwick/Pablo at 383, The Ara Institute of Canterbury, BNS Design and Print and Arts Voice Christchurch.
As part of our fundraising efforts for August, we have been wonderfully supported by local artists who have donated an image to use in a series of collectible badges. Six artists have generously let us use a detail from new and existing artworks to create limited edition, 55mm diameter tin badges.
Wear your support for the arts on your chest/hat/bag/scarf/anywhere you can pin it!
We are offering these badges for $20 each. Each series is limited to 40 badges; so get in quick!
Badges are available to purchase from Chambers at 241 Moorehouse Ave, C1 Espresso on the corner of Tuam and High St and via arrangement with Warren Feeney and Audrey Baldwin.
Alex Wootton
Julia Holden
Tobias Gilsenan
Natalia Saegusa
Rebecca Harris
Audrey Baldwin
We are very excited to welcome to the Christchurch fire community to be part of our ABRACADABRA event. This long running community will be present (weather permitting) on Colombo St, opposite Embassy, spinning fire and lighting up the event when darkness falls.
The Christchurch fire community run a weekly community fire, drumming, circus and flow event in Victoria Square. It's an inclusive and open space - all are welcome from any skill level and any profession. They strive to support an open, collaborative collective of performers, teachers, students, photographers, musicians and everything in between!
Stop on by to say hello and be mesmerised by their skills on the night!
We enjoy showcasing all sorts of art forms as part of our event and are looking forward to a performance by the Nor'West Arch Morris Dancers at The Colombo. The group will be coming out of hibernation early especially to take part in our event!
The origins of Morris dancing are lost in the mists of time. It survives today as a form of folk dance performed in in villages in rural England and other colonial countries by groups of trained men and women. This ancient British folk dance makes use of ribbons, bells, sticks and handkerchiefs. The tradition is even mentioned in several Shakespearean plays and is sometimes thought to have ties to fertility rituals of old . Our city's Nor'West Arch Morris Dancers focus on dances from the North West of England and the English/Welsh border region.
The dancers will be performing inside The Colombo at 7.30pm. There will be extra sticks on hand and you are most welcome to join in and have a go!
In the battle between good and evil, boredom and blandness, art plays an important role. First Thursdays is aided in fighting the good fight and bringing it to Sydenham by local artist and paste-up-crusader, Mark Catley.
Catley started his street art practice after the Christchurch earthquakes as way to suprise viewers and provide some joy in the damaged inner city. Life sized paste-ups of vintage toys - often from iconic movies and television series began popping up in the central city. Bare boards over broken windows and tagged up hoardings began hosting familiar characters - Chewbaca, C3PO, Batman, Robin and more. The human-sized scale and well known quality of the images draws people in - cue hundreds of selfies and interactions with the 2D images. The works evokes happy memories for adults and delight and wonder in children.
Many of the pieces were created with his childhood toys, adding an autobiographical element to the works. These paste ups tell a story about an individual and a city re-telling and re-framing it's stories in a playful, inclusive way. It speaks of the fantastical as a part of the everyday and the possibility of the mundane becoming something spectacular at any moment.
For First Thursdays, Catley plans to introduce some new figurines to the city! Playing on notions of the fantastical and heroic, but also camp and absurd - enter He Man and the Masters of the Universe! Keep an eye out for the obscenely, muscular figures with crazy proportioned bodies along Colombo St, where they'll be playing out the age old battle between good and evil.
If you'd like more information about Mark Catley, check out his website or like his designs page on facebook.
Be on the look out for an amorphous, mysterious work emanating from Eco Frame and Mirror on Thursday. Clara Wells has put together a work that promises to absorb and entice the viewer while leaving them mystified.
A digital projection, Brief Artifice, focuses on subjects that Wells' current practice has in common with the theme of August’s First Thursdays event - magic, illusion and alchemy. One important aspect of her work is the role that methods play in the understanding of a work. The moving image can be, at times, a mysterious thing. The use of chemicals and light of machines and devices to document existing movement or to create it from scratch.
Brief Artifice was made using a combination of direct animation and digital manipulation as well as corrosive materials to break down colour layers of pre-developed film stock. The many still images give an illusion of overall movement, while from frame-to-frame they share little in common. The murky and undefined images that result move by at pace, never quite giving the audience a chance to understand or explore any more than what is caught in passing. The images produce a feeling of erosion and decay while simultaneously appearing to morph and grow in fluid, celestial form.
The audience is invited to take in the work as an overall experience or to venture deeper into the fleeting detail of individual frames.
Clara Wells completed an MFA at the University of Canterbury in 2015 and since then has been working from her studio in Hamilton. Having focused primarily on the moving image throughout her studies, Wells is now looking towards intersections between these and the static image as well as continuing her highly regarded work using hand drawn animations and sound.
Many thanks to Eco Frame and Mirror for generously hosting this work!
Learn more about this up and coming artist's multiple talents at her website: www.clarawellsart.com or give her a like on facebook.
No magical evening would be complete without the blessing and presence of Christchurch's iconic Wizards and Faerie community.
Keep an eye out for The Wizard of Christchurch roaming about with his apprentice as they banish ill moods, bad juju and stimulate creative conversation around First Thursdays.
There will also be a spot for tiny tots to enjoy a story time session with Lily Peas Blossom - Ambassador of The Fae at Pablo 383 Colombo St. Pop in for a tall tale and a photo opportunity.
Lily and her friends will have a wonderful fairy grotto set up as well as a market stall so that you too can take up faerie wands and wings and spread your own magic.
Currently completing her Post Graduate degree in sculpture at Ilam School of Fine Arts, Emma Wallbanks is a breakthrough multi-disciplinary artist based in Lyttelton. She was a finalist for Ilam’s SELECT award last year, and also the recipient of the Bickerton-Widdowson trust scholarship for 2016. She has upcoming exhibitions at 30upstairs in Wellington, and Auckland’s Corner Window Gallery. Her work is concentrated on the otherworldly; where the conventional material world is re-imagined into an ongoing bizarre collection of the once lived.
For First Thursdays: ABRACADABRA, the artist is exploring a darker side of nature and the balance between the sublime and malevolent.
Black Magic willmake use of glazed ceramic stoneware, gold leaf, bone and various found organics to create a installation at Kennett Crafted Jewels.
In keeping with the jewellery context of the space, some wands shall be gilded in either gold or silver, and most will have a dark and malevolent feel to them. The concept of dark magic comes from the origins of the wand’s materials, the tip (magic) element of the wands have all been collected from Kaitōrete spit, which for the artist gives an ominous yet transcendent feeling. The wonder, beauty and also destructive power of nature is referenced in these works - there is a balance and a push/pull between that which is dark and dangerous, yet undeniably beautiful and awe-inspiring.
Wallbanks is interested in how organic matter can carry and tell a story of the place they come from - making the collected matter into wands presents a whimsical yet honorable way to encapsulate and extend the magic of Kaitōrete spit.
Many thanks to Kennett Crafted Jewels for commissioning this artist and being part of the First Thursdays Programme!
Creating an engaging and inclusive programme sees First Thursdays Chch working with both established and emerging artists. With a wealth of creatives studying and stepping out into the art world every day, we relish opportuntities to showcase the talent nurtured by organisations such as Ara Art and Design. With their help, we were introduced to the incredibly talented McChesney-Kelly Adams, who answered our call for an interactive artwork that tied into our ABRACADABRA theme.
In her third and final year of her Visual Arts degree at Ara, McChesney-Kelly Adams enjoys creating hyper-realistic drawings with a mystical twist. Using pencil and watercolour washes on plywood, Adams has created a mystical spinning wheel which offers the audience a chance to divine their inner animal guide.
Born of the idea of old-time carnivals and fairs populated with palm readers, crystal balls, try-your-luck games and rickety rides, the aesthetic is one that is at once familiar but strange.
The work plays on the idea of the benevolent charlatan and acknowleging our never ending desire to find deeper meanings and purpose within random events and our inner selves. Adams selected an unlikely array of animals, creating an alternative set of mystical spiritual guides and symbols of our inner selves. These creatures are divined with a mere spin to help encourage and direct you on your path. Who wouldn't want a hedgehog guiding them through the turmoils of life?
Her interactive, playful and mystical take on a 'wheel of fortune' - Madame McChesney's Animals will be sited inside The Colombo in the lead up to our event.
To see more of this fantastic artist's work, follow her on instagram or head on over to her facebook page.
Many thanks to Ara Art & Design for their support in making this work possible!
