New festival seeks region’s best ideas

New festival seeks region’s best ideas

New Zealand’s first and only festival of kinetic arts – ‘kinetika’ – is looking for Taranaki’s best ideas to transform into moving engineered artworks to be exhibited in December.

The festival is the creation of a partnership between the Taranaki Arts Community Trust and the Engineering Taranaki Consortium, and is seeking proposals for moving artworks by the end of May.

“We’re starting with a Taranaki focus, recognising that so many great ideas come out of this region,” says TACT Chair Simon Cayley, “We want to explore the relationship between art and engineering.”

“The plan is to deliver a small but successful festival in 2010, and grow that in future years to become one of New Zealand’s major arts festivals.”
Entrants must design artistically appealing structures that exhibit movement. Works can be of any scale, for indoor or outdoor exhibition, and their kinetic movement driven by any means.

“kinetika combines two uniquely Taranaki attributes,” Brian Souness, Chief Executive of the Engineering Taranaki Consortium says.

“The region has a powerful legacy of movement – as evidenced by the coast, the Mountain and such influential artists as Len Lye – and we also have a world-class engineering sector, which is looking forward to being challenged to deliver the visions of competing artists.”

Two categories will be offered in 2010: artists can either submit designs that, if selected, will be brought to life by Taranaki’s engineering sector, or they can design and create their own kinetic sculpture. The winner of each category, as judged by a public vote, will receive a $2,500 first prize.

Entries into the first round close on Friday 18 June 2010, with detailed designs of successful ideas required by the end of June. Kinetic artworks must be ready for exhibition by 3 December 2010.

Entry forms and conditions of entry are available from the Real TArt Gallery, Egmont St, New Plymouth, at Engineering Taranaki, 9 Robe Street, New Plymouth, or at the region’s three i-SITE information centres or online at www.kinetika.co.nz.

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