HUTT CITY COUNCIL NEWS RELEASE

4 MAY 2016

Common Ground: Art Festival returns to Lower Hutt

Hutt City Council has partnered with local arts organisation Letting Space to run Common Ground: Hutt Public Art Festival – Groundwater in February 2017.

This is the second Common Ground Festival, after a successful 2015 debut saw High Street come alive with events including a recreated 1960s Elbe’s Milk Bar, a 24 hour clothing sweatshop and a Pacific Island reading room.

The 2017 Festival - Groundwater aims to raise awareness of the river, streams and local water table.

Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace says it’s great to have the Festival reflecting the community’s interests, “Lower Hutt’s waterways are a source of local pride. The flood protection work that’s being planned and a move to re-orientate the city more around its river means water presents a key revitalisation and resilience focus for our city.“

Letting Space is an arts organisation based in Wellington that works on urban revitalisation through public art and community engagement, and brokering the use of vacant urban space.

Pippa Sanderson, Community Arts and Culture Advisor for HCC, says, “We are really excited to partner with Letting Space. They bring valuable expertise as one of the top organisations in the country working with public art and community participation, and were part of the selection panel for Common Ground in 2015.”

Mark Amery, from Letting Space says, “We’re chuffed that we will curate and produce Common Ground public arts festival in Lower Hutt in February 2017.

“The Festival will bring artists together with the public, iwi, scientists, council, community groups and others who have been exploring issues to do with this shared resource - its current use, history and future as a common resource.”

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