Sugar Loafing Arts Cast: Recent Episodes
Mikaela Nyman
Sugar Loafing Arts Cast showcases the diversity of arts in Taranaki and beyond. Host Mikaela Nyman interviews artists, creative makers, writers and curators, and delves into art ideas and mediums, discussing a wide range of themes, such as decolonisation in New Zealand and Pacific art and literature, how to find inspiration, and the beauty of collaboration with other creative souls across art disciplines.
The fundamental idea of this podcast is to showcase arts and creativity and to inspire. Do you have a creative passion or want to share your ideas? Feel free to contact Mikaela on community@accessradiotaranaki.com
Sugar Loafing Arts Cast is supported and sponsored by the Govett Brewster Art Gallery.
Contemporary ceramicist Teresa Peters' acclaimed work exists as solid clay objects and in digital video form. In 2021 she won the Portage Ceramic Awards and was a finalist in 2022. Here, Teresa talks about her work TIME CRYSTAL.
Join host Mikaela Nyman for a conversation with Roger Morris, AKA Remo. Remo's art is often political in nature, communicating what’s happening in the world. His dynamic woodcut prints are on a magnificent scale.
Join host Mikaela Nyman as she chats to Rea-Menzies, who is an amazing tapestry, painting, drawing and mixed-media artist.
Join Mikaela Nyman as she talks with Pesala Brown (Debbie Pearce) from Taranaki, who is a Teaching Principal at the Mulga Bore School. Seven indigenous students from Mulga Bore School in the rural Northern Territory formed a rock band to audition for a competition. Months later they were opening for KISS.
Youngsolwara activist and researcher Talei Mangioni talks about the history of the Pacific grassroots movements for a Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific and its relevance today.
Sukena Shah was awarded the George Mason Visual Arts Scholarship in 2022 for ‘To be a Brown Woman', a stunning painting that was part of her Year 13 art portfolio at New Plymouth Girls High School. Drawing on her Pakistani heritage, Sukena's art offers a critical examination of the experience of women in post-colonial South Asia through a young artist's eyes.
This week’s show is a tribute to Chris McLean and the late John McLean’s artistic legacies, to lives well lived and ongoing creative exploration. The interviews first aired on Access Radio Taranaki on ‘Hit the Trail’ in Sept 2022.
Liv Sisson is a fungi expert, forager, and storyteller whose love of nature’s tiniest marvels began in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Liv was one of the OMV Steamlab speakers at WOMAD this year.
Artist and designer Erica Sklenars (a.k.a. Lady Lazer Light) from New Plymouth works globally across the fields of mixed reality, video art, installation, performance and intervention with sound artists and musicians.
Mikaela caught up with Taranaki-born food systems expert and author Emily King at WOMAD. Emily grew up on a Taranaki dairy farm, where her deep connection to the land sparked a passion for food as a catalyst for change. Featuring music by this year’s WOMAD artists.
Mikaela caught up with talented Cuban Cellist Ana Carla Maza at WOMAD. Featuring music by Ana Carla Maza and her father, Carlos Maza, also known by his Mapuche name Newen Tahiel.
Stitching Solidarity - artists express solidarity with Palestine. An interview with Marilyn Garson.
Mikaela caught up with author Lauren Keenan at WOMAD. Lauren is the NZ Booklover Awards 2025 winner of adult fiction with her historical novel set in Taranaki. Featuring music by this year’s WOMAD artists.
WOMAD Poetry Slam 2025, featuring poetry slam judge, Leah Dodd, and local contenders, Theya Ashman and Holly Shanahan (this year’s winner), preparing for the big event. All three are from Taranaki. Plus, music by this year’s WOMAD artists.
A community arts radio show that takes on the belief that the arts are exclusive, hosted by Mikaela Nyman.
Mikaela caught up with Margaret Scott when she was the February artist at Janes Gallery in New Plymouth. Featuring music by Margaret’s talented daughter MC Tali.
Architect-turned-illustrator Laura Feller shares her time between Oakura in Taranaki and Graz in Austria.
Gaenor Brown is into theatre and drama education research that explores social change, personal and community development.
This month, the ARTSpace features contemporary Māori visual art designer Lester Ransfield, whose art is inspired by both Māori and European influences.
Join Mikaela as she revisits last year's WOMAD Poetry Slam. Callout to all poets - this could be you!
Talented urban sketcher Scott Wilson has a knack for capturing the city’s hustle and bustle. Did you know Urban Sketchers Taranaki is part of a growing global movement? Scott joins Mikaela for an inspiring kōrero with lots of good tips and ideas!
The sea and the beach inspire Ailie Snow’s art that incorporates found materials. Ailie is part of ‘The Beach’ summer exhibition at from Out of the Blue studio gallery in Opunake until 10 February.
This month's ARTspace is filled to the hilt with Alice Batten's vibrant and thought-provoking art
Abstract artist Julia Chochola works on large scale canvases but started out as an abstract tattooist in Prague. Now she’s opened her own art gallery in New Plymouth.
Taranaki artist Amy Sao Tui combines wood and wool in her art that honours her Samoan ancestry. Check out Amy’s work and the spectacular tapa we discuss at the Lalaga: Le Hui Fono exhibition at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.
Rainbow Youth have taken over the ARTSpace with TRANSformation, a group exhibition, this month! Benson, Nyrah, Evie and Wes talk art, Trans Week of Awareness, and the connection between life and art.
Mikaela talks hats and designs with fabulous textile artist, milliner and fashion designer Simone Montgomery from Port Chalmers.
It’s all about mosaic, busts and guitars with Taranaki artist Robyn Jacob this week on Sugar Loafing Arts Cast
Why creative residencies are important, and the question “Have you done what you planned to do?” is less interesting. Jeff Harford of OAR FM’s Write Spot puts Robert Burns Fellow Mikaela Nyman on the spot.
Mikaela talks to ceramic artist Amy Brennan, whose quirky soulful figurines invite the viewer into Amy’s enchanted world. Amy is also one of the artists on the Taranaki Arts Trail this year.
Digital artist and story-teller Dave 'Tex' Smith is exhibiting his portraits in the ARTSpace in the Top Town Cinema mall in October.
An artists’ talk with Adam Portraiture Award 2024 finalists Jana Branca and Maryanne Shearman, both live in Taranaki. Maryanne Shearman is this year’s winner with ‘Tuhi-Ao’.
This week we take a deep dive into improv theatre with Phill Spear, founder of Improv Taranaki, in conversation with Toni Marie Smith, Hannah Taylor and Josh Gross.
Holly Fletcher is the head librarian at Dunedin Athenaeum & Mechanic’s Institute, one of the oldest private libraries still in use. A book lover and a published poet, Holly discovered at a mature age that she was dyslexic.
Lesa Hepburn is a multi-disciplinary artist who uses botanical fibres, plants and recycled materials in her sustainable, low impact arts practice for her 2D and 3D works, installations and prints.
“Sense Art is like painting a picture with words,” says Wendy Lawrence, who believes in accessibility to art for all. Wendy guides free Sense Art Tours at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre for visitors with hearing or vision impairments.
Pottery is the passion of father-daughter team Rick and Rhiannon Wood. Rhiannon just won the Supreme Award in the New Plymouth Potters annual exhibition.
Glass artist Ellie Field’s architectural scale work has been shown with Britain’s top glass artists and commissioned for Singapore airport. Now she’s finding her way back to glass art at a smaller scale.
A conversation about art, creativity, writing, WOMAD poetry slam, and this year’s Taranaki garden trail offerings with freelance writer Virginia Winder.
Lola Elvy is a talented young musician and singer-songwriter studying maths and composition. She’s also the founding editor of the online journal ‘fingers comma toes’ for children and young adults
Weaver and sculptor Karen Rubado is back at from out of the blue studio gallery in Ōpunake with a solo show ‘Unraveling Certainties’ from 18 July to 26 August.
Artist and designer Erica Sklenars (a.k.a. Lady Lazer Light) from New Plymouth works globally across the fields of mixed reality, video art, installation, performance and intervention with sound artists and musicians.
A taste of Festival of Flash 2024! In the lead-up to National Flash Fiction Day New Zealand on 22 June, Mikaela chaired a panel with writers/artists Renee Liang, Siobhan Harvey, Michelle Elvy, Claire Beynon and Bill Nelson on ‘Creative (non)fiction: In search of the truth?’
Mikaela caught up with actor, comedian and film-maker Tom Sainsbury at WOMAD. Tom’s darkly comic plays have been staged in New Zealand, Australia, UK, USA, France and Greece. We talk about his funny social media videos, the Goodbye Pork Pie remake, and whether he feels the pressure to always be funny.
Norine Ford-Dixon is the ARTSpace artist in June and shares her love for wallpaper and collage in this episode. Check out her collages and the suitcase that was part of the ‘Abroad’ exhibition at Percy Thomson Gallery last year.
22 June is Taranaki Zinefest Day! 🤩Alice Cowdrey and Wesley Milne tell you all you need to know about making & swapping zines and how to sign up for a workshop or a table at Zinefest!
Mikaela caught up with author Caroline Barron at WOMAD. Find out what prompted Caroline to write her memoir Ripiro Beach and her novel The Golden Days. Lots of useful writing tips on offer too!
Actor, comedian and writer Kura Forrester (Ngāti Porou) won the Billy T Award in 2019 for best-emerging comedian with her show ‘Kura Woulda Shoulda’ and became the first Māori woman to do so. Mikaela caught up with Kura at WOMAD this year.
Heidi Griffin is the owner and manager of the popular Gover St Gallery in New Plymouth - a true community space for Taranaki’s creatives. This year she intends to nurture her own artistic skills too.
Mikaela talks to Taranaki writer Airana Ngarewa about his best-selling novel The Bonetree and the launch of a Māori branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors this weekend, with more to come!
Diagnosed with a rare kidney condition 11 years ago, Taranaki artist Rowena Komene has overcome the odds and now has a future to plan for. One that includes visual arts.
Tio Bang Massing from Vanuatu delighted crowds at WOMAD this year. Mikaela talked to Tio about his poetic folk music and his home island, Ambrym.
Helen Lehndorf is a co-founder of the Manawatu Urban Foraging Group. Mikaela talked to Helen off the stage at WOMAD about her book A Forager’s Life which delves into the environment, food, motherhood and autism.
Korrena Kidd’s vibrant art fills the ARTSpace in April. Listen to Korrena talk about her art and the supportive environment at ACE Adult Community Education Massey University Te Putahi a Toi in Palmerston North.
The Emergence Art Awards for young Taranaki artists are back! Mikaela finds out all about them from Laura Campbell, Director of Percy Thomson Gallery, and the 2018 Emergence Award winner Morgan Paige Taitoko.
Taranaki poets Wilna Strydom and Helen Griffiths reveal how they prepared for the event. Poetry judge Karlo Mila tells us what moves her and reads a poem. And this year’s winner, Teirangi Klever, reveals why she chose to enter.
Rebecca Beyer is a children's librarian, printmaker and author of illustrated children’s books. She’s been busy organising Our Words - a festival of local writers and story-tellers happening in and around New Plymouth on 20-27 March.
Steampunk Taranaki - The Mild Mild West has taken over the ARTSpace in March. Costumes and Tea Pot racers included! Hear Jo Fuller (Lady Watsonia Victorious! Ohms) and Lesley Butler (Lady Esmarelda Wainwright Hyphen Smythe) profess their love for steampunk.
Anna McLean switched Taranaki’s art scene for a curatorial internship at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. What is it about curating that makes it an exciting career choice for creative young people?
Elizabeth Smither is a multi-award winning writer of poetry, fiction and non-fiction and a former New Zealand Poet Laureate. Elizabeth reads part of a new short story and a poem.
The ARTspace in the Top Town Mall is hosting a group exhibition by the New Plymouth Pastel Association throughout February. Pop in to have a look!
Manaia artist Krismarlianti Donaldson won the 2022 Taranaki National Art Awards in the painting category. Krismarlianti is also a published poet in Indonesia.
Alastair Ross talks about this year’s film festivals at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre Cinema. Coming up on 2-6 February is the KIRIATA MĀORI film festival that was taken out by Cyclone Gabrielle last year.
Fenton Street Arts Collective offers great coffee, gin, whisky and gallery space for exhibiting artists. Owner Jo Stallard talks about her portrait painting and the upcoming Shakespeare events in Stratford.
The art of Roger Morris (a.k.a. Remo) is often political in nature, communicating what’s happening in the world. His dynamic woodcut prints are on a magnificent scale.
After 30 years, Gaye Atkinson returned to making pottery. Raku is her preferred firing method. View her award-winning artefacts in ’50 years of clay’ at Puke Ariki, celebrating 50 years of New Plymouth Potters.
Suzan Kostanich is a fibre artist with many talents in fashion design, stitching and felting. She talks about her intricate process of felting, or laminating, wool and paper together to make her lavish Madonnas embroidered with gold and glass beads.
Marianne Muggeridge is a national treasure who has painted Nobel Prize winners and Reserve Bank governors. For Marianne, art is the point of life. Art has never failed to put her back on track.
Jeanette Verster won the fibre art category in the Taranaki National Art Awards 2023. On Sugar Loafing Arts Cast this Saturday at 11am she talks about her meticulously folded paper, cotton, silk and acrylic work influenced by music, kirigami, origami, polyrhythms and the cross as a multi-layered signifier.
Colour and light are key elements in Veronica Tee’s art, and she spends hours in Pukekura Park. From early on she learnt that determination and practice pays off. Check out Veronica’s landscapes in pastel and oil in our ARTSpace until 8 January!
Mike Brown and Riki Osborne from Mokau Bone Carving talk about next year’s Mokau Bone Carving Symposium and a new community bone carving hub in New Plymouth.
Weaver and educator Karen Clark in Waitara is taking her weaving into more artistic directions. As the owner of KareNZ Kitz, she also shares some valuable business tips. Check out Karen’s gorgeous weaving in the ARTSpace in the Top Town mall throughout September!
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month. Lillian Haskins from The Rural Youth & Adult Literacy Trust and former farmer Michael Kingpotiki, who learned to read for his grandkids and wrote a book about it, talk about the power of literacy. We also meet Holly, Stratford’s certified canine pet therapy and library dog, and her owner Jane Roguski.
Mikaela caught up with Suzette Goldsmith at WOMAD’s World of Words earlier this year. We talk about gardens, natural heritage and Suzette’s book of essays, Tree Sense: Ways of Thinking About Trees (2021), which emerged out of her PhD studies. Suzette reads an excerpt from the book.
Barbara Mullins, Eileen Fitzpatrick and Leslie Ault from the Embroiderers’ Guild talk about the ins and outs of embroidery and the strong interest among young people for sewing skills. Check out the Guild’s fabulous exhibition in the ARTSpace until the end of August!
This week features four of Taranaki’s contemporary women artists in the State of Nature – Picturing the Silent Forest exhibition at Puke Ariki. Sarah Lee Good, Michaela Stoneman, Coral Dolan and Tabatha Forbes have responded to the botanical paintings of artist Fanny Bertha Good (1860-1950)
Andrew Doehring’s exhibition ‘Wednesdays with Andrew’ opens at the Gover St Gallery on 5 August. Jan Huijbers has been mentoring Andrew over the past year, just like Andrew’s grandfather, George Boys, once mentored Jan. Mikaela and Jan talk about the things being passed down through generations, and the uniqueness of these talented artists.
Talei Mangioni, a Youngsolwara activist and researcher, shares her insights into the history of the Pacific grassroots movements for a Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific and its relevance today, mentioning Japan’s intention to dump millions of tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater.
Mikaela hitches a ride with Te Waka Puka Puka /the Mobile Library bus with Walter Crawshaw. In this episode we visit Waitoriki, Norfolk, Ratapiko and Kaimata rural schools. Later, we head up the coast to Mimi, Uruti and Ahititi schools and meet a hardcore book club at Tongaporutu. (Part 2 of 2).
Mikaela and Zeal Taranaki rangatahi get into zines with Coco Solid. Of Ngāpuhi, Sāmoan and German descent, Coco Solid (a.k.a. Jessica Hansell) is an inspiring multimedia artist, producer, film-maker, rapper, musician and writer. Her novel How to Loiter in a Turf War (2022) is a lucid, genre-bending work of autobiographical fiction.
Sobranie Ngarin is the ARTSpace artist for July. She shares her love for harakeke and positive mindset. We also talk about the Waitara Artists Cooperative and the upcoming Puanga exhibition.
Puke Ariki library is celebrating 20 years in its current location. Mikaela hitches a ride with Te Waka Puka Puka / the Mobile Library bus in the company of the knowledgeable Walter Crawshaw. In this episode we meet booklovers in New Plymouth’s urban retirement villages (part 1 of 2).
Assemblage artist Carl Fairweather and painter Erryn Willcox run the South Taranaki Creative Space in Hāwera and art classes for adults and children. They’ve recently finished a community mural for the new cultural centre building site.
Check out the Toi o Taranaki Ki Te Tonga indigenous women’s exhibition in the ART space in June. Artists: Maria Brockhill, Tania Niwa, Charlotte Graham, Melanie Yazzie, Vanessa Edwards, Ashlee Robinson and Gabrielle Belz. This is a taster for the upcoming Kahui Mareikura Indigenous Sisters exhibition at Percy Thomson gallery in July.
Mikaela caught up with Elaha Soroor at WOMAD this year, where Elaha performed with London-based band Kefaya. A traveller of Hazara heritage, Elaha wants to share the folksongs, culture and language of Afghanistan’s people with the world. All the songs in this episode feature Elaha Soroor, incl ‘Charsi’, made famous by folk musician Mir Maftoon.
Textile artist Alice Cowdrey specialises in needle felting and runs workshops under her Folk Felt name. Her work tells stories that draw on her Eastern European ancestry, myth, spirituality and queerness.
The Disability Arts question the limitations society puts on people’s bodies and minds. Janet Price talks about equitable access, her advocacy for disabled artists and how to get artists and galleries to consider how they display their work to make art accessible for as many as possible in our community.
Marilyn Rea-Menzies is an amazing tapestry, painting, drawing and mixed-media artist. Her work has been commissioned for Government House. She is currently showing work at the blue studio gallery in Opunake; the exhibition ‘Extinction is Forever’ ends on 29 May.
Alice (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki) is a scholar, writer and a finalist in the Ockham Book Awards with her first poetry collection Always Italicise: How to Write While Colonised. Alice shares insights into her journey and an unpublished poem especially written for Taranaki.
Films and the upcoming film festivals at the Len Lye Cinema are the focus this week. Mikaela talks to cinema programmer Alastair Ross about the difference between arthouse films and blockbusters, and what makes a film memorable and Alastair shares some favourite music - with a film angle, of course.
Historian Dr Rachel Buchanan (Te Ātiawa, Taranaki) talks about Te Motunui Epa, a finalist in the Ockham Book Awards for illustrated non-fiction. Carved between 1750 and 1820, buried in a Taranaki swamp, illegally sold and smuggled offshore in 1972 - the story of the five epa features kidnapping, ransom payment and high-level politics that changed international law on the protection and repatriation of stolen cultural treasures.
Hāwera artist and marionette maker Cherol Filbee shares all the tricks of the trade and the joy that goes into making marionettes and performing with ‘The Interluders’ at the Hāwera Repertory.
Lesley Dowding is the Artspace artist in April. She talks about how her love for stage craft, photography and stained glass windows has influenced her current exhibition.
Artist and well-being advocate Paul Rangiwahia uses words and images to manage his personal wellbeing. He talks about investing in yourself and his latest resources.
This week’s Sugar Loafing Arts Cast is a WOMAD Poetry Slam special! Mikaela talks to local poets Anne Bayliss and Warren Smart in the lead-up to WOMAD. Warren ended up in the final two against Paekākāriki poet Kerry Dalton. Poet Laureate Chris Tse offers some useful tips and advice on what he is looking for in poetry, both spoken and in print.
When does a hobby become a job? Helen McLorinan Artist and Kerilyn Douwes talk about time management, pricing art, consistency of income and how their visual arts practice in painting and pewter has evolved.
Michelle Bent talks to the March ARTspace artists Frances Rookes and Mikaela Nyman about their joint exhibition of 2D prints and 3D knitted wire bodies, about things hidden within, body shaming, loss and the shadows they carry around - or, in this case, put on the wall.
Huhana Smith and Monique Jansen from the artists collective Te Waituhi ā Nuku: Drawing Ecologies and Phil Stevens from Slow Farm talk about biochar as a practical and creative response to climate change at a biochar burning event at Parihaka māra.
Heidi Griffin, Chair of the Taranaki Arts Trail, gives us the ins and outs of the Taranaki Arts Trail which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Deadline for registering: 31 March.
Dave ‘Tex’ Smith talks about innovation and collaboration, his digital art, building on indigenous story-telling, turning museums inside out and a new type of social media platform.
Ruha Fifita talks about the extensive research and collaboration that goes into making tapa art on a large scale. Ruha’s work ‘Lototō’ can be seen in Te Au: Liquid Constituencies at Govett Brewster Art Gallery and in the spectacular retrospective Robin White: Te Whanaketanga | Something is Happening Here in Auckland. She is the Curatorial Assistant for Pacific Art at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.
Jennifer Corbett is the February ARTspace artist. She talks about coming back to art as an adult, her Tourist Birds illustrations for her children’s books, and running after-school art classes in Waverley and Patea.
Printmaking is the focus for this week. Mikaela talks to Dimphy de Vaan, Mark Raymer and Michaela Stoneman about Print Council Aotearoa NZ and the publication of PROOF – Two decades of printmaking in Aotearoa.
Laura Campbell, Director of Percy Thomson Gallery in Stratford, talks with Mikaela about the practicalities involved in presenting art and getting exhibition ready, as well as the duty of care for both artists and gallery.
Acclaimed sculptors Renate Verbrugge and Jocelyn Pratt talk about this year’s Te Kupenga Stone Sculpture Symposium and their process for transforming hard andesite into playful, sensuous sculptures that defy gravity.
Mikaela talks with potter Marita Green about pricing work and attaching value to art and craft. Pricing is a big challenge for many creative people, but an integral part of being a full-time artist.
Mikaela talks to Jordan Hughes and Casio Austin about the group exhibition by 10 LearnerMe digital graphic arts students that are showing in our ARTspace in January. Their self-portraits draw on a wide range of references from nature and the spiritual world to manga, anime and gaming.
Mikaela talks to quilters Leslie Ault, Ruth Pfister and Claire Patten, who worked on the ‘TaranakiAPart Together’ quilt, a community lockdown 2020 project that is showing in our ARTspace in January.
Contemporary ceramicist Teresa Peters’ acclaimed work exists as solid clay objects and in digital video form. In 2021 she won the Portage Ceramic Awards and this year she’s a finalist. Her work TIME CRYSTAL is on show at Te Uru art gallery until 5 March 2023. Check out her exhibition ‘Ground Zero’ with Maree Horner at the Contemporary Art Space Taranaki!
Welcome into these beautiful homes – for seriously tiny inhabitants! Mikaela speaks to Taranaki members of the NZ Association of Miniature Enthusiasts – Maureen Holmes-Woods, Jo Cross, Shelley Young and Mary McCaffery about their passion, art and craft.
Sukena Shah was awarded the George Mason Visual Arts Scholarship this year for her painting ‘To be a Brown Woman’, a stunning piece that’s part of her Year 13 art portfolio at New Plymouth Girls High School. Drawing on her Pakistani heritage, Sukena’s art offers a critical examination of the experience of women in post-colonial South Asia through a young artist’s eyes.
Jan Huijbers is the ART Space artist for December. Check out his art inspired by nature’s design and oceanic creatures. Jan grew up in Zundert where Van Gogh was born.
Theatre is Shona Edwards’s passion; she also writes under the name Shona M. Wilson. Shona’s comedy ‘Golding Girls’ which opens on 23 Nov is the last play she will be directing for New Plymouth’s Little Theatre before moving to Whanganui. Mikaela talks to Shona about writing scripts and bringing them to life on the theatre stage.
Artist and picture framer John Schumacher is a keen tramper, who finds inspiration in nature, science and poetry. His joyful, abstract oil pastels are on show in the ART Space in the Top Town mall throughout November.
Andrea Connor uses layers of acrylic paint to convey the patterns of nature in her semi-abstract art. Andrea is also skilled at carving and sculpting bone and stone. We talk about some of the challenges she’s dealt with over the years, including as a participant in the biannual Te Kupenga Stone Sculpture Symposium in New Plymouth
Mikaela talks to Ōakura artist Rosemary Petterson about sculpture commissions, her work on film sets, and her colourful sculptural windows ‘Love, Joy and Hope’ featured in Auckland’s 2022 Heart of the City’s celebration of spring. Currently, Rosemary is working with tamariki on a large mural for Te Pi’ipi’inga Kakano Mai / Rangiatea Kura Kaupapa Māori in Spotswood that will be unveiled at the school’s 30th birthday celebrations in November.
Janine Duff and Christine Gordon talk to Mikaela about the upcoming New Plymouth Floral Art Awards. This year, floral artists have joined up with the Embroiderers’ Guild on the theme ‘Environmental elements. We talk about foraging, what revolutionized floral art, and the elements of composition that make up a spectacular piece. This year’s award exhibition can be viewed at the Beach St Hall in Fitzroy on Saturday 29 Oct, coinciding with the Taranaki Garden Festival and Arts Trail.
Paul Coulton of Huatoki Creatives and Matt Sturgess of String Studios are our ART space artists for October. Come and check out Paul’s copper art and Matt’s hand-built guitars (electric and acoustic) in the ART Space until the end of this month. Paul and Matt have also been writing and performing blues for over 40 years, most recently as Hoos Blues.
Taranaki National Arts Awards celebrates its 20th anniversary this year (last year was canceled). Mikaela talks to TNAA Chair Megan Symons and artist Christine Byrnes about the Awards ceremony on 28 Oct that promises to be a cracker event! Volunteers wanted! The exhibition closes on 6 Nov.
Listen to part 2 of a korero with Witi Ihimaera and Vanda Symon from the inaugural NZ Society of Authors Taranaki Roadshow held in September 2022 in New Plymouth. Witi was the first Māori writer to be published in Aotearoa, and 2022 marks 50 years since the publication of his first book Pounamu, Pounamu.
Listen to part 1 of a korero with Witi Ihimaera and Vanda Symon from the inaugural NZ Society of Authors Taranaki Roadshow held in September 2022 in New Plymouth. Witi was the first Māori writer to be published in Aotearoa, and 2022 marks 50 years since the publication of his first book Pounamu, Pounamu.
Pasha Clothier presents an interconnected world view, typical of Polynesia, in her art and writing. Pasha traces her whakapapa to the tiny island of Hitiaurevareva (the Tahitian traditional name), colonised as Pitcairn Island. We talk about plants, connections across time and space, the value of indigenous knowledge, whales, cosmos, and listen to some intriguing sounds.
Margaret Hands is our ART space artist for September and works in soft pastels (chalk pastel). Her art practice keeps her in a peaceful and playful space, while Taranaki beaches and bush offers a springboard for her imagination, sometimes resulting in fantastical creatures. She’s working towards self-publishing her pictorial art journey. Check out her work until end of September.
“Gardeners are the ultimate artists,” says artist Tabatha Forbes when Mikaela visits Forbes & Flay studio gallery in Ōpunake. We talk about sound art, Elam, botanical art and the workshop in botanical drawing Tabatha will hold at Puketarata in Hāwera during the Taranaki Garden Festival.
Paekākāriki artist Francis Salole has many creative strings on his bow. Mikaela caught up with Francis at From out of the blue studio gallery in Ōpunake. His exhibition “Blindspot” is a re-imagining and reassembling of his own work in cut-up and woven form. We talk about his 3 years in the company of dinosaurs, doing stop-motion clay animation for the award-winning Kiri and Lou TV-series, and why he took a break from art to train and work as a psychiatric nurse.
It’s long been a dream of 2 working mums, both dancers, to start New Plymouth’s first dance school dedicated solely to teaching popular Latino styles. Jodie Leach and Yanita Hall, co-founders of Alegria Latin Dance, talk about their passion and why dance and the power of dance to foster physical and mental well-being and social connections
This week Mikaela talks to Pip White, a keen photographer and the ART Space artist for August, and to Elaine Rollins from Govett Brewster Art Gallery about what contemporary art is, and how the community can engage and take part in this ongoing conversation.
Talented tattoo artist Kim Seng of Dark Days Tattoo talks to Mikaela about his art and passion on the Sugar Loafing Arts Cast, and all the care and thought that goes into his designs that draw inspiration from Japanese motifs. Check out his work on www.darkdays.co.nz and on Facebook and Instagram @darkdaystattoo.
Beth Pottinger-Hockings from Taranaki Creative Fibre talks about FibreEd 2022 that showcased knitting, felting, crocheting, weaving and spinning alongside work celebrating harakeke (flax). Some of the artefacts we discuss include the wall hangings ‘Basket of Skills’ by New Plymouth Creative Fibre and ‘Taranaki Coast’ by Waitara Fibre Fanatics, a harakeke cloak, some beautiful felted coats, and Beth’s felted purse.
Mikaela talks to inspirational bone carvers Mike Brown and Riki Osborne from Mokau Bone Carving about their passion for genuine, handcrafted New Zealand art. We discuss the thinking that goes into designs, and how to source and carve bone in culturally respectable ways.
Mikaela talks to Amy Houston, whose exhibition ‘Shallow Roots’ is showing in our ART Space throughout the month of July. We discuss the practicalities of being a travelling artist and Amy’s shift away from large oil pastels to a digital canvas.
Michelle Bent talks to author and host of SugarLoafing, Mikaela Nyman about her ongoing collaboration with women writers in Vanuatu, her 2020 novel Sado set after the 2015 Tropical cyclone Pam, and the first ever Vanuatu Women’s Anthology, Sista Stanap Strong! that Mikaela co-edited with Rebecca Tobo Olul-Hossen to commemorate Vanuatu’s 40th anniversary of independence. Singer-songwriter Joan Niras from Tanna features
Seven indigenous students from Mulga Bore School in the rural Northern Territory formed a rock band to audition for a competition - and went on to win the event, taking out the Alice Springs Battle of the School Bands. Pesala Brown (Debbie Pearce) from Taranaki is a Teaching Principal at the Mulga Bore School. We’ll hear some talented young indigenous musicians and about life in the Australian outback.
This week Mikaela interviews Charlotte Giblin, artist and art teacher, who has just returned from exhibiting in Nelson and Hamilton. We talk about where Charlotte Giblin finds inspiration for her ever-evolving arts practice, about the importance of inviting and receiving feedback (positive and negative), and about her forthcoming book that draws on her own inspirational journey from fear to trust.
Mikaela Nyman in conversation with Amir Foladi about the importance of culture, art and peace for a community affected by generations of persecution and war. Amir Foladi belongs to Afghanistan’s Hazara minority and recently came to Aotearoa as a refugee. In the past, he worked for the Aga Khan Foundation with professional development for NGOs, culture, heritage and eco-tourism in Bamyan province, supported by New Zealand.
This week’s interview is with Helen Mays, whose exhibition “A play on words, words at play” is showing in our ART space throughout the month of June. We talk about Helen’s exploration of her thoughts and the world around her through collage and words, found materials, landscape and colour.
Alice interviews Taranaki Artist, Shelly Frank whose painted landscapes were recently on display at the Access Radio Taranaki ATY Space.
Auckland based artist Mary MacGregor Reid whose show celestial bodies, a multi-channel video installation opened at Contemporary Art Space recently.
Taranaki artist Jennifer Halli has set up an art space project Might Could on Currie Street.
This week I speak to Taranaki artist Suzan Kostanich who is pushing the boundaries with felt and paper.
This week I interview artist Isla Fabu whose exhibition Beauty and the Beast - A selection of works exploring the space beyond dualistic perceptions - is on show at From out of the blue studio gallery, Opunake.
This week I speak to new Percy Thomson Gallery Director Laura Campbell who took over the reins from Rhonda Bunyan earlier in the year.
Professional Taranaki Artist Joni Murphy talks about her passion for painting and recent changes within her practice.
This week's interview is with Taranaki-based artist Jodi Naik who explores her connection to the depth and beauty of the natural world.
Fern speaks about her career as an artist in Australia and New Zealand and her drive to express and preserve the fragility of memory and time. Fern's intricate and symbolic paintings are a personal reinterpretation of Victorian cabinet cards and are a response to her deep fascination and connection to that period of history.
This weeks interview is with Taranaki based artist John Hodgson whose work is on display at Access Radio's exhibition space during February. John speaks about his time at art school as an older student as well as themes explored in his paintings.
Leben's show All That I Can Carry, opens tomorrow night at Contemporary Art Space, 74 Powderham Street at 5.30pm, all welcome
This week I interview skilled Taranaki sculptor Chris Wells. Chris speaks about his career as a chef and artist and about the completion of a significant project.
This week I speak to contemporary jeweller/ sculptor and co- founder of The Jewel and the Jeweller, Sam Kelly. Sam talks about her journey into the creative world as well as the process of working with bone.
This week I interview dedicated New Plymouth Potter Marita Green, Potter whose beautiful work is both functional and quirky 🌿🌸 Marita currently has work on show at Kina NZ Design as part of the Cup exhibition
This week I interview writer Craig Foltz who speaks about his journey as a writer and poet. Craig also talks about his latest book, Locals Only, An Outsider's Insider Perspective on Aotearoa - a selection of poems offering up an insightful road trip of New Zealand places.
This week I interview Taranaki based artist Rohan Wealleans who is opening up his studio from tomorrow for the Taranaki Arts Trail. Rohan also runs a New Plymouth-based art gallery, Contemporary Art Space. A new group show, ' We All Think We Are Goid People' which features artists from around New Zealand is happening on Saturday night from 6pm.
This week I speak with Oakura jeweller Sally Laing who is one of the artists participating in the Oakura Arts Trail, which is running the same time as the Taranaki Arts Trail, October 30 & 31and November 6 & 7.
Alice chats with talented Taranaki jeweller, Sarah Tullett, who speaks about her creative life and participating in the Taranaki Arts Trail for the first time.
This week I interview wonderful Porirua artist Sam Dollimore whose exhibition Prognosicators recently opened at Contemporary Art Space, New Plymouth.