Aspiring Young Artists Install New Public Art To Hagley Park

SCAPE Public Art is proud to introduce our Re:Activate Aspiring Artists for 2021:

• Junior category, Te Ao Rangimarie Davis
• Senior category, Agatha Weston and Sienna Oshannessey

SCAPE Public Art Re:ACTIVATE Aspiring Artists 2021 competition is a programme that promotes the creative arts by mentoring talented young artists. Fostering young artists is key to maintaining a flourishing cityscape for future generations.

“Creating art is a powerful way for students to process their feelings, experiences and connect with each other during these challenging times. We encourage all young people to take a break and enjoy being creative this summer”, says SCAPE Executive Director Deborah McCormick.

“It’s also a great opportunity for the entire whānau to grab a map, wander the city and discover the delight of art popping up around the central city for SCAPE Public Art Season 2021.”

The annual Re:ACTIVATE Junior (Years 1–8) and Senior (Years 9–13) competition and exhibition is open to Cantabrians aged 18 and under. SCAPE strives to nurture young, aspiring artists and promotes education and opportunity in the creative arts sector.

2021 saw tough competition with almost 200 applicants. 10 Junior designs and 3 Senior designs were shortlisted for the SCAPE Selection Panel to consider producing this year. The selection panel comprised six experts with engineering, production, arts education and creative design backgrounds.

Entrants responded to a SCAPE Public Art Season 2021 theme, Shadows Cast. The two winning entries have been produced and will be installed this week at Hagley Park, near the Armagh Street bridge entrance. We will celebrate our young artists achievements during our SCAPE Public Art Season 2021 opening weekend, 19-21 November 2021, and the artwork will be on display throughout the SCAPE Season into the New Year.

This is the sixth year SCAPE has partnered with Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers to bring talented new voices to our city. “Every year we are impressed by the creativity and energy of the submissions received from the young people of Christchurch,” says Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers Director Helen Trappitt.

“We look forward to seeing these delightful works come to life and would like to thank the Christchurch City Council, Signtech, ENI Engineering, Fulton Hogan and Elizabeth Ball Charitable Trust for their ongoing support to the programme.”

The winning designs for the Re:ACTIVATE Aspiring Artists 2021 are:

Re:ACTIVATE ASPIRING ARTISTS 2021, JUNIOR
Te Ao Rangimarie Davis
TAMA-NUI-TE-RĀ 2021
Acrylic

The winner of this year’s Junior category is Te Ao Rangimarie Davis, aged 8 from Te Pā o Rākaihautū School.

Te Ao Rangimarie’s teaching class was looking at the solar system and the sun. They explored a range of creative processes based on the iconograghy of Tama-nui-te-rā including drawing, collage, modelling in three dimensions, and painting.

This inspired her design, entitled Tama-nui-te-rā, a vibrant piece that welcomes and greets the viewer as they stroll through the park, much like the way the sun greets us at dawn. It celebrates the story of how Māui slowed down Tama-nui-te-rā to give us longer days, and also all that Tama-nui-te-rā gives Papatūānuku.

Hurihia tō aroaro ki te rā tukuna tō ātārangi kia taka ki muri ki a koe. Turn your face to the sun and the shadow falls behind you.

“It is incredibly meaningful to have the stories and art of tangata whenua present in Hagley Park”, says SCAPE Public Art Season curator Jamie Hanton.

“The work is joyful, creative, and reflects the theme perfectly. It carries strong visual impact and will resonate with those who use the park. It complements the work of SCAPE season artists Sione Monū whose work incorporates clouds (located in the Botanic Gardens) and Aroha Novak whose work explores indigenous plants that were removed in the creation of Hagley Park.”

Re:ACTIVATE ASPIRING ARTISTS 2021, SENIOR 
Agatha Weston and Sienna Oshannessey
REMEMBERING OUR ROOTS
Steel

The winners of the senior category are Agatha Weston and Sienna Oshannessey, aged 16 from Rangi Ruru Girls’ School.

Their artwork is titled Remembering Our Roots and is designed as the framework of a waka. It reflects on the importance of the history of the Ōtākaro (Avon) river as a source of mahinga kai, a traditional food source. The way the water would have touched the waka, is a reminder of the continuous flow of life and the many different paths the river has historically taken.

The waka would have passed through these lands, intrinsically connected to mana whenua. The artwork represents the roots of the artists’ whakapapa, which they want to remember and keep celebrating through this artwork.

“This work exemplifies my curatorial thinking around The Season”, says SCAPE Public Art Season curator Jamie Hanton.

“Our Shadows Cast theme looks at how we are shaped by our ancestors and whakapapa. The waka is symbolic of the journey those before us have taken and its connection with the Ōtākaro; a body of water that historically has taken many paths, its past paths could now be considered ‘shadows’.”

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