A grey, miserable week became oh so much greyer with the release of the trailer for the Australian reboot of The Office, a comedy somehow even drearier than anyone anticipated when it was first announced a few years ago. Yes, there have been other international adaptations, from Finland, Chile, Canada, India — the list goes on — but a quick skim of Wikipedia reveals very few have had the legs of David Brent or Michael Scott, ending after a season or less. Based on what we saw and then tried to forget this week, Hannah Howard and Flinley Craddock seem set to have the lifespan of MTV’s Skins.
On a happier note, in publishing news last night’s PANZ Book Design Awards saw a Shōgun-style sweep by Jade Kake and Jeremy Hansen’s exquisite Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere, which took home the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book, the Penguin Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book (shared with Lana Lopesi’s Pacific Arts Aotearoa), the HarperCollins Publisher Award for Best Cover and the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand People’s Choice Award.
Pacific Arts Aotearoa also picked up the Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Best Typography, and it was especially nice to see the Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book go to Balamohan Shingade, Erena Shingade and Katie Kerr for Past the Tower, Under the Tree: Twelve Stories of Learning in Community, a beautifully packaged anthology of exceptional quality and insight.
In music, the Others Way Festival have announced the first lineup for the 2024 fest on November 30, one highlight of which is international duo Dean & Britta performing songs by Galaxie 500, so get up an early bird ticket.
Girls & Boys is wrapping up its season at Auckland Theatre Company this weekend, so head along to hear one actor conjure multiple people in a one-act triumph of memory and dissertation. Eleanor Bishop’s stage set is a brilliant exercise in simplicity.
And, for those of you who observe, the band Bright Eyes released new album Five Dice, All Threes today. More of the same, yes, with extra muffled dialogue, but at least the cover isn’t as god-awful as that of the last album (still pretty bad though).
News from the galleries
Text sells this week, with Fiona Jack’s PUBLIC CLAY at Melanie Roger (featuring collaborations with Elisabeth Pointon and Sholto Buck) and Ammon Ngakura’s Affirmations at Coastal Signs.
Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery has put out a call for a new Manutaki Director, surely one of the most coveted postings in Aotearoa’s visual arts. Backroom gossip is generating an ever-expanding hypothetical longlist — entirely speculative, of course — of who will be vying for that $148,835 to $192,610 per annum. Applications close October 6.
Bookings are open for Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery’s 2025 Japan Art Tour. Attendees join Linda Tyler, AD Schierning and James Gatt for an 11-night tour encompassing Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Naoshima and Okayama.
Julian Hooper is opening Grotto at Pōneke’s Envy gallery today, following his City Gallery Wellington exhibition The Letter (hosted by the National Library) so pick up North & South’s September issue — the one with Nicola Willis on the front — and read our in-depth Julian Hooper profile.
Also, our friends at Art News Aotearoa released a wonderful Julian Hooper-designed cover for their Spring 2024 issue.
Finally, Auckland’s RM Gallery’s 2024 fundraiser The Cost of Living 2.0 is on this weekend at The Kit (8 East St). You can preview the range of works with refreshments on Friday 20 September from 6-8 pm, or take home an artwork of your own on Saturday 21 September from 11-4 pm. All works are priced at $350 (unwaged) or $450 (waged).
Participating artists include: Grace Crothall, Yukari Kaihori 海堀, Daphne Simons*, Hana Carpenter, Katrina Beekhuis, Amy Unkovich, Anton Maurer*, Hannah Valentine, Motoko Kikkawa, Josh Carlier, Susu, David Cowlard, Jana Wood, Amanda Mackenzie, Alex Laurie, Milli Jannides, Connah Podmore, Sena Park, Juliana Durán, Kathryn Tulloch, Sophie Bannan, Luke Shaw, Aileen Chen*, Benjamin Ord, Elijah Broughton, Grace Miriams, Megan Brady, Ziggy Lever, Lucy Meyle, Robbie Handcock, Eiko Olykan, Fiona Connor, Theo Macdonald*, Yana Dombrowsky M’Baye and Lee Richardson.
*past North & South contributors.
Head along, buy some art and help one of Aotearoa’s best artist-run spaces continue thriving.