The countdown has begun for Performance Art Week Aotearoa

The countdown has begun for Performance Art Week Aotearoa (PAWA), which launches next week.

The Wellington-based performance art festival runs from November 14-18 and brings together a wide variety of artists from Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.

The 17 attention-grabbing, confronting performances will explore topics as wide-ranging as consumerism, colonisation, music, and communication and will be held daily at Play Station gallery and Thistle Hall.

PAWA founder and curator Sara Cowdell says there is a really exciting line-up this year.

“I am super happy to have two public performance works taking place this year. We have the seasoned performer Mark Harvey and the playful Binge Culture Collective. Both of their works involve audience participation, so viewers will get a chance to have a unique experience and be apart of an artwork!”

Thistle Hall will also host an exhibition curated by Istanbul Performance Art running from November 15-18. The exhibition will include videos, photographs and interesting information related to performance art.

Cowdell says a festival such as this is important, as the art form isn’t as acknowledged or celebrated in New Zealand compared to other art forms, despite its massive scope and potential.

“At PAWA we aim to share with people an art form that is incredibly powerful with a fascinating history rooted in politics, protest and the human condition. It opens you up to a whole other realm of understanding.”

The festival will also aim to inform and educate the public on this incredible medium through a variety of discussions, workshops and community breakfasts that will be open to all.

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