Residents invited to bring to life an enormous painting

Wellington residents invited to bring to life an enormous painting

Projected Fields Siv B Fjærestad
Produced by Letting Space
Opening 19 April 2015. Opening Public Picnic Sunday 19 April 12-3pm
Macalister and Liardet Street Parks, Wellington

Be part of a giant painting, stretching across the fields of one of Wellington’s great park areas.

In a bold public art project, artist Siv B Fjærestad is working with public art producers Letting Space and in partnership with Wellington City Council to create an enormous artwork on the fields of Macalister and Liardet Street Parks, Berhampore: a dynamic colourful backdrop for people to play on.

Now all they need is you! They’re inviting the public to contribute activities and events on the painting, and head along on opening day Sunday 19 April for a programme of family events and a community picnic.

This unusual painting has been inspired by field markings, and the stories and activities of the many communities who use the parks: and their dreams for its future. Over 2013 Fjærestad and volunteers surveyed the local community and park users to inform the painting’s design and how it might be activated.

This is a painting for the public to both look at and play on, encouraging leadership from the community in valuing the park as a public commons. Macalister and Liardet Street Parks were selected, Fjærestad and Letting Space say, because they contain many diverse areas and different pockets of activity, and also sit between a number of suburbs and different communities.

“The painting design contains representations of statistical data and ideas for the park collected from the community, visual references to current activity and also to the landscape and its history,” says Fjærestad. “I’m also exploring the visual language of field markings and signage seen on sports and recreational grounds.”

The sports ground presents an interesting playing field for making art she says because it is governed by how various communities, clubs and individuals use it. “The park is perceived, used and interpreted differently at different times of the day and week. This work involves contributions from local communities, sporting groups and businesses, and extends what we consider both painting and public art to comprise. It asks questions about how we use our city public commons.”

For enquiries and event ideas email lettingspace@gmail.com.

Projected Fields has been funded by Wellington City Council’s Public Art Fund. For information: www.lettingspace.org.nz/projected-fields

Artist

Siv B. Fjærestad is a Norwegian-born artist and curator, living in New Zealand. She holds an MA in Visual Arts from Goldsmiths College in London, and has exhibited at Enjoy, Wellington, City Gallery Wellington, Special Gallery, Auckland, Temporarycontemporary, London, and Station Gallery, Bristol. Site specific and performative works include Sweep at Liverpool Station, London and Beacons, Hilly Fields Park, London. She has previously worked as Manager and Curator at Enjoy where she curated One Day Sculpture with Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams, and co-commissioned and curated An Imaginary Archive with NY based collaborative artist and academic Gregory Sholette.

In 2011 Fjærestad chaired a Wairarapa based arts and culture community initiative called Featherston Seen, for which she created and exhibited works based on local recreational grounds. She is currently working part time managing Featherston Community Centre, which hosts many South Wairarapa organisations and community groups.

Producers

Over the last five years Letting Space have produced innovative public art projects across New Zealand, commissioning artists to work in public space as agents of social change and explore new ways through art and urban revitalisation to think morecreatively and collectively about our environment. Based in Wellington they have commissioned and curated over a dozenprojects and also run Urban Dream Brokerage, which enables other independent producers to create innovative projects invacant retail spaces in Wellington.

ENDS.

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