Int. Artist Visits Manukau School of Visual Arts

Top international artist visits Manukau School of Visual Arts

Renowned Chilean artist Juan Castillo is in Counties Manukau for an exciting Manukau School of Visual Arts (MSVA) artist in residence project

Chilean artist Juan Castillo is in New Zealand as the 2006 Manukau School of Visual Arts artist in residence, a fellowship awarded in partnership with Creative New Zealand and Melbourne’s The South Project.

As the first stage of his exciting residency project at MSVA Juan is meeting with Counties Manukau locals and compiling video interviews which record their views on art - whether graffiti, their environment or culture.

Juan has chosen the Otara Shopping Centre to conduct these interviews, and he has been inspired by the openness of the people as well as the complex views expressed by those who live in this region.

His works reflect the lives of people through video work and public interventions and his Otara project explores the paradoxes of private/public space and internal/ external projections. This video project is also a collaboration with local video artist Leilani Kake and Lucas Robotham, a Chilean artist living in New Zealand.

Once the video recording is complete, it will be projected on to the rear of a truck which will circulate through the streets of Auckland. It will begin its journey in the community that created it, stopping at key sites around Auckland on its way to the CBD and finally finishing in a rural landscape.

Te tuhi – the mark, Counties Manukau public gallery in Pakuranga is holding an exhibit of a project by Castillo and later the complete video recording of Castillo’s Otara project will be exhibited at St Paul Street Gallery, Auckland central and Fresh Gallery, Otara.

Juan is one of five members of C.A.D.A (Collective Art Action) an artist group that emerged in 1979 in reaction to the military coup that saw Pinochet assume power in Chile. Juan’s community-based politically charged work was in direct reaction to the military government and he has since spent most of the time in exile in Sweden. Today, Castillo is a senior artist whose work is influencing a new generation of artists across the globe.

Castillo’s public project Minimal Baroque can be seen around Auckland on 27 August, at Fresh Gallery, Otara 6 – 12 September and at St Paul Street Gallery, from 6 September. Otro maldito dia (Another bloody day) Juan Castillo, te tuhi the mark, 13 Reeves Road, Pakuranga on until 27 September 2006.

About the Artist in Residence Project

This Artist in Residence Project is now successfully in its fourth year and has brought many internationally talented artists to MSVA and the Counties Manukau area.

About MSVA and MIT

Established in 1970, Manukau Institute of Technology is one of New Zealand’s premier education and training institutions. In 1996 The University of Auckland made a commitment to providing its internationally-recognised degree programmes at Manukau Institute of Technology. The Bachelor of Visual Arts, which is taught at the Manukau School of Visual Arts, is one of the University of Auckland degree programmes available at the Institute.

ENDS

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