No stone unturned on the waterfront

1 March 2015

No stone unturned on the waterfront

Performance Artists Angela Kilford and Elijah Winter are partnering with the weavers of Te Roopu Raranga o Manaia for their latest work No Stone Unturned.

Based at the Performance Arcade, a series of architecturally arranged shipping containers on the waterfront, No Stone Unturned is a collaboration between the artists, participants and the Manaia weavers.

Audience members will be invited to participate in guided walks through the city. The walks, which are free and open to a maximum of eight people at a time, will be an opportunity to explore ecology and diversity in the urban environment.

Participants will be encouraged to look for a range of native insects and plants and then classify their discoveries not in traditional taxonomic terms, but by whakapapa, highlighting the relatedness of all living things and reminding those involved of their relationship to Papatuanuku (Earth Mother).

Like many of Kilford’s recent projects, No Stone Unturned underscores the artist’s long-time fascination with contested memories.

“I’m seeking to elevate oral histories as a means of recording the past, she says. My inspiration comes from Māori concepts and knowledge shared amongst whanau. Often this knowledge is in opposition to colonial narratives and that raises questions about the way we value different types of knowledge”

On returning to the 20-ft container, audience members will continue the conversation through learning and making – weaving with the artists and the Manaia weavers of Hikoikoi Petone.

No Stone Unturned was sparked by a previous work, Walk on Fallow Lands, where participants were invited to bring objects relating to Pohutukawa to be photographed and made into postcards. Discussing the history of horticulture and cultivation in the city led Kilford and Winter to a re-imagining of Wellington involving the existing biodiversity of the landscape.

“The use of traditional raranga techniques back at the Arcade reinforces the importance of Maori knowledge, he says “We’re hoping to increase awareness of the connections between people and place, using whakapapa (genealogy) and raranga (weaving)”.

Councillor Ray Ahipene-Mercer is pleased to see this kind of work taking place in Wellington “Recognising our city is made up of people with differing but equally valid perspectives and learning how to interpret your surroundings in a new way is really exciting, he says “Just a few hours spent with the artists and weavers could open up a whole new world for Wellingtonians”.

No Stone Turned is supported by the Wellington City Council Public Art Fund and runs from 3-6 March to 2016.

http://theplaygroundnz.com/the-performance-arcade-2/

Walks are free and go ahead rain or shine. Cancellation may occur during high winds.

11am-1pmand5pm-7pm
3-6 March
Book by email:angelakilford@gmail.com

Take part in or watch harakeke (flax) weaving with Manaia weavers
2-4pm
3-6 March
No previous experience required.

The number of people using the revamped Green Bay, Titirangi area bus services has grown dramatically by 35 per cent in one year.

In August 2014, a new public transport network was introduced in Green Bay and the adjoining areas of Blockhouse Bay, Wood Bay, Tanekaha, Titirangi, Laingholm and Kaurilands.

“It was an ideal opportunity to try out new bus routes applying the principles of the New Network,” says Anthony Cross, Auckland Transport Public Transport Network Manager

“We felt at the time that it would also provide useful indicators about the New Network when it was eventually rolled out throughout Auckland. Now, after the first full year of implementation, we have an impressive 35 per cent increase in patronage,” an elated Mr Cross says.

He puts this down to replacing up to 24 routes running infrequently in a complex network, with 9 routes in a much simpler and more consistent service pattern. Some of these features are:

• Better integration of buses with train services at New Lynn, including the very popular 186 South Lynn Loop.

• Simpler, more consistent routes on clock face timetables (buses running at the same minutes past the hour eg. 10.25, 10:55, 11:25,11:55 and so on).

• A new connection between Glen Eden train station and Titirangi.

• Improved bus services to Laingholm including an express bus service to Downtown Auckland for the first time.

• Retimetabling of western services operated by Go West for improved connections. About $350,000 was spent on this and service punctuality has jumped from 80% to 95%.

One of the most notable innovations was streamlining the bus service along Titirangi Road between Titirangi Village and New Lynn. Previously a large number of different and infrequent services connected the two centres and even used different stops opposite one another in Titirangi Village. This was replaced by a simple, consistent service pattern, running every 30 minutes for the entire span of service every day of the week (including weekends), direct from Titirangi Village to New Lynn.

Since its commencement, more services have been added to this network to cater for increased public demand.

The New Network costs a similar amount of money and uses about the same number of buses as the previous network but has delivered not only a much simpler and more customer-friendly network, it has done so without needing significant additional public funding. And, locals have voted for this much simpler and easier to understand model through patronage.

Mr Cross concludes “The Green Bay experience augurs well for the future. We look forward with great anticipation to the results from the Hibiscus Coast and getting on with the implementation of South Auckland, Pukekohe and Waiuku later this year.

The New Network is a public transport initiative aimed at creating a simpler, more integrated transport network throughout Auckland.

---ENDS ---

Consultation on the Green Bay, Titirangi New Network was carried out October to November 2013.

• 453 submissions were received

• Changes were made to four of the 11 routes proposed

• 3 August 2014, the new services were introduced

Attached: Graph of annual boardings on Green Bay and Titirangi services

For more information: www.at.govt.nz

ends

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