Oil paintings by Ashraf Pirnia and photography by Pedram Pirnia
Art the SDGs is a dynamic week-long exhibition that leverages the power of photography and oil paintings to spotlight global issues aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through visual art, the exhibition aims to inspire community engagement and action toward achieving these goals.
EVENT
Wednesday 17 July: 5.30 - 7pm
Explore art's impact on societal change through discussions on the topic,moderated by Joy Dunsheath MNZM JP.
CONTACT
Instagram: @ashraf_pirnia_gallery
Instagram: @pedram.pernia
Website: www.pedrampirnia.com/
STRANGE HOME presents creative architectural experiments in the strangeness of home. Master’s students from Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington, were invited to record strange, everyday, absurd aspects of home and distill these observations as architectures of strangeness.
Students looked at detailed miniature events that make up a particular aspect of home life, such as navigating a dark corridor in the middle of the night, from bedroom to bathroom, the tangled forms of bedclothes during a restless sleep—or explorations of home’s more-than-human aspects: dynamics of lost keys, record collections, the spatial movements of house pets. They used creative practice techniques—drawing, modelling and writing—to distill the strangeness of these worlds into speculative, strange homes. The work presents unique views on home, how it might be understood, or even intentionally misunderstood, if home’s strangeness was given free reign.
CLOSING EVENT
Friday 12 July 5:30pm
Thistle Hall Community Gallery is closed this week for our twice-yearly spruce up and repaint.
This gallery maintenance keeps our walls fresh and tidy for all exhibitors, and is funded by the 10% commission on exhibitors sales.
#YourTenPercent
The Everyday People photo exhibition is presented by ChangeMakers Resettlement Forum as part of the World Refugee Week celebrations.
ChangeMakers is a grassroots refugee led NGO which works to support the full participation of refugee background communities in life here in Aotearoa New Zealand. While the media often portrays the refugee community as helpless and dependent, this exhibition aims to change that narrative. Through a series of captivating photographs by Ehsan Hazaveh, we are privileged to share in the daily lives and quiet moments of Wellingtonians from refugee backgrounds as they work, study, play and spend time with friends and family. This exhibition represents people from diverse ethnic and sociocultural backgrounds, and showcases how they, (each in their own way) participate, contribute, and enrich societal life in Aotearoa. We sincerely thank those people of refugee background who have participated in the development of this exhibition.
Read more about ChangeMakers Resettlement Forum
Facebook: Changemakers Resettlement Forum
Through the unconventional choice of spray paint, this series encapsulates the vibrancy and unexpected elegance of daily life in Wellington. This technique sheds light on the oft-overlooked medium, elevating its potential to convey the intricate dance between order and accident.
CONTACT
Instagram: @nathanielbellart
Email: nathaniel.adam.bell@gmail.com
Circling Back is a relaxing exhibition of original black and white ink mandala art from Wellington based artist Mike Pethig.
Each hand-crafted piece has been created as a form of meditation for Mike and has been drawn with remarkable care and attention.Art available will include a range of original framed A3 pieces, a suite of affordable original A4 and A5 pieces, a wide selection of card prints and a
select number of Mike's beautiful German colouring-in book Das Ausmalcafé (The Colouring Café).
CONTACT
Website: www.macromicro.co.nz
Instagram: @macromicroart
Facebook: Macromicro Art
Global Wood Rework invites all its wonderful supporters & patrons to its first exhibition for ten years.
Global Wood Rework was started in 2011 AD with the aim of stopping as much timber as possible going into the Wellington landfill.
CONTACT
Facebook: Global Wood Rework
Website: www.globalwoodrework.com
FACEBOOK EVENT
Handcrafted Mosaic Stained Glass Art - Vino Martyn
I started working with glass in 2010 as a hobby wanting to express my inspirations, thoughts, experiences and the world around me in the form of mosaic stained glass art. I have a story behind every piece of work I have produced. Each piece of glass is cut and shaped to size by hand and placed to form a unique picture that relates my thoughts.
Fashion Jewellery - Lindsay Park
I’m a contemporary jewellery artist based in Wellington. My work is unique as it relates to elements of biodiversity, our natural environment and popular culture that is found in Aotearoa. For this exhibition I’m working with shells, feathers and other natural elements that celebrate Aotearoa’s maritime aspects and our unique avifauna.
Between You and Me is an exhibition by three Wellington artists. We all work differently, so there is a lot for you to see and enjoy. We would love to meet with you and share our love of art.
The artists are contributors to the Dhan Karunai Illam, a home for disadvantaged children in south India, founded by Wellingtonian, Jean Watson. Ten percent of the proceeds of exhibition sales will go to the Illam children.
CONTACT
Elizabeth Harcourt
Website: elizabethharcourt.com
Email: elizabethgharcourt@gmail.com
Instagram: @elizabethkarori
Sankar Ramasamy
Email: sankarramasamy09@gmail.com
Margaret-Anne Barnett
Email: margaretannebarnett@gmail.com
Instagram: @mabarnett.art
Welcome to my exhibition Love for Colours. I am a visual artist and author. My works are inspired by Nature. I primarily use rich, bright, vibrant colour pallet, as loving colours. People said, my works reflect joy, giving a visual healing. It is proven that the colours affect us the people, giving particular vibes and mood. I think through my art I spread happy vibes. Hope, you enjoy seeing my artworks! Thank you.
CONTACT
Website: www.nataliaturina.com
Instagram: @natalia_turina_art
#NataliaTurina
No Rhyme No Reason is an amalgamation of three friends who share a similar passion for painting.
Delve into whimsical realms inspired by a cocktail of cartoons and comics, where childhood nostalgia intertwines with a modern application and wink and nod to the absurd. Explore the intricate beauty of Japanese motifs meticulously hand-painted, each piece a testament to tradition and craftmanship which whisper ancient tales from their sturdy confines.
Experience the dynamic energy of Japanese themes bought to life with vivid hues and inspiration drawn from a devotion to the tattooing elements and applied using the vibrant hues of Copic markers which bring the pieces to life in a riot of colour.
Together, the collective works invite you to participate on an exploration of shared imagination, an exception from convention, and ride the wave through our eclectic art exhibition. There is no rhyme, no reason’, just a dash of irreverence.
Tom Bell: @tombellgraphics
Liam McCartan: @nachostudios1
Mike Todd: @miketoddtattoo
#handpainted #nzartist #wellingtonart
Hamish Thompson’s photographic series, Behind the Counter: Wellington Shopkeepers, celebrates the personalities of 30 local shopkeepers and their shops, illustrating how they contribute to the unique character of Wellington.
Some shops have been family-run businesses since the 1920s. They include book stores, barber shops and florists, as well as stores specialising in fabrics, hats and ice cream.
These local businesses create a sense of place and community identity. They also provide personal customer service and a welcome alternative to chain stores and online retailers.
The photographs are presented in a ‘snapshot style’, capturing a variety of small shops that have caught Hamish’s eye on the streets of Wellington.
CONTACT
Instagram: @hamish_t_design
Email: studio@hamishthompson.co.nz
Website: hamishthompson.co.nz
Artists: Cheesin, Rue Archer, Ruco, Eli Armstrong, Avodoxa, Indvdl, Alex in Ink, Chemically Creative, Trobe
This is a collection of student art and artists from Wellington. Through Nostalgia Markets, we've been holding vintage and craft markets with Thistle Hall over the past year and wanted to find a way to highlight all of the incredible artists, designers and creatives that we see coming through as vendors.
The exhibition features 9 artists, ranging in photography, illustration, painting, and sculpture. There's truly something for everyone.
EVENT
Flea Market
Saturday 20 April: 11am - 4pm
Thistle Hall (upstairs)
Nostalgia Markets' biggest vendor line up yet!
CONTACT
Email: thenostalgiamarkets@gmail.com
Instagram: @nostalgiamarkets
Tiktok: @nostalgiamarkets
#nostalgiamarkets #shoplocal
The remote Wairarapa beaches of my childhood offered thrilling signs of other worlds – a dead fish, a painted plank. Today, the plastic flotsam on my local Lyall Bay beach feels more like a warning.
When visiting the island of St. Kitts, named after Saint Christopher the patron saint of travellers, I was struck by all the washed-up shoes. They were half-buried in sandbanks, tangled up in rubbish and seaweed. Others lay like sunbathing tourists disgorged from cruise ships to bake on wide-open stretches of sand. Face up and face down they held together, fell apart. Some were still making landfall, washing in and out on the waves.
Each shoe portrait is paired with a companion story: not about the shoe’s once-wearer, but about someone (or something) who shares the spirit of the shoe.
We too are carried by currents, worn by the elements as we travel through this world.
CONTACT
Email enquiries to: sheepdogfilms@gmail.com
The Woman, Life, Freedom photo exhibition showcases staged actions with Iranian activists who have deeply immersed themselves in the tragic events in Iran. The photos strive to depict instances of what happened in Iran during the uprising, as seen through the eyes of the performers. Despite residing in a peaceful country, Iranians are confronted daily with alarming news from their homeland. Through this collection, Ehsan Hazaveh intends to convey the experiences of the Iranian diaspora in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The exhibition also screens Women Rising (2023), a short documentary by Sahar Fanian. The documentary profiles Hanna Habibi, one of the leading activists behind the Women Life Freedom movement in Wellington, NZ. In the film, Hanna talks about her experiences growing up as a girl in Iran, what ultimately led to her decision to leave Iran, and the events that unfolded around the death of Mahsa Amini that prompted Hanna and other women around the globe to take action. The film will be part of a larger series documenting the stories of other brave and inspiring Iranian women behind the movement.
CLOSING EVENT
Sunday 7th April, from 2 - 3pm
Symbolic dance performance by Bahareh
Speeches from Tamatha Paul (Wellington Central MP), Joanne Looyen (Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand), and the artists Ehsan and Sahar.
Instagram: @ehsanhazaveh, @iraniansolidarity
#JinJiyanAzadî #WomanLifeFreedom #Mahsa_Amini #Iran
A conceptual photographic exhibition by Kobi Maibach and Nate Oakley
A2 sized prints from Kobi and Nate's work and a range of A4 and smaller prints from Kobi and Nate's collection.
Risograph books from Nate's work Dairy to Dairy, a thorough photographic investigation into dairy culture in Aotearoa NZ.
FILM PREMIERE
Under the Surface (2024) Film Documentary Premiere
Monday 25 March 2024 6pm
Thistle Hall - upstairs hall
Under the Surface explores the link between the decrepit heritage buildings around Wellington and worsening housing crisis we are experiencing as a community. It looks to explore the concept of heritage, it's importance and relevance, and questioning and weighing up its place in modern Wellington city society.
Gather your friends & whānau and join Nate Oakley, Tamatha Paul MP & Geordie Rogers who are guest speaking at the premiere, taking questions and discussing this important topic and more. Come along and be a part of this important conversation to help change Wellington for the better.
Instagram: @kobi_sky_photography, @neoakley
BOYS is a celebration of queer male identity through intricate and lavish collage. Each "Boy" has a distinct character, from "Farm Boy" to "Dandy Boy", they portray glammed up, glittering versions of themselves. Camp, colourful, and often kitschy, BOYS takes the male gaze and turns it inwards to find the fabulous in the everyday.
James Graves is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Te Whanganui-ā-Tara Wellington. His practice in collage has developed since finishing a BFA in video and performance.
Instagram: @jamesgravesart
The uniting visual theme of this art exhibition is the broccoli, which our team has embraced as a symbol of queer joy and frivolity during this difficult time for our rainbow communities. With transphobia and online hate speech continuing to rise, we wanted to create a space of joy and silliness that gave a platform to rainbow artists of all generations and backgrounds.
The broccoli emblem alludes to a common story that suggests Sappho, a Greek poet famous for her love poems to women, wrote about gifting broccoli to women she was attracted to. Whilst there is no definitive proof of broccoli being used in this way, the story highlights the ambiguity and erasure of queer histories. Our exhibition is designed to encourage rainbow communities to look into the past and connect with our queer ancestors.
Instagram: @insideoutkoaro
Facebook: InsideOUT
Email: tabby@insideout.org.nz
Art exhibition by Whanganui Artist; Melanie Fleet.
As part of the LGBTQI+ community I see the impact of bigotry and phobias every day. The choice of grenades highlights the explosive nature of LGBTQI+ issues.
Using materials that are colourful, sparkly, quirky and playful, conveys a sense of resilience and strength within the LGBTQI+ community, showing that despite facing hate and discrimination from others we continue to shine brightly and stand together with pride.
The pieces exhibited are 3D mixed media sculptures and photographic prints of the sculptures.
Instgram: @fleeting.fancynz
Facebook: fleetingfancy
Website: fleetingfancy.co.nz
The skills of guitar-dance duo Jake & Anita collide to create this 'doing wor(l)d': words create worlds, and a world is inside a word.
VERBS is a “found art” installation about digging deeper, explored through fleeting scenes of music, dance, poetry, and light. It is designed to be stumbled upon by the passing public - hence “found art”. Jake & Anita will be resident at the Thistle Hall Gallery, visible at street level, from the 25 February - 3 March as they install, rehearse, and perform their show.
The process of making the show has also been “found art”. Much of its content has been inspired by photographs taken during their adventures around the streets and coasts of Wellington, and from Anita’s great uncle’s slide collection.
Philosophically the show focuses on the intangible nature of knowing. Nobody truly knows how someone else sees – we all perceive and interpret reality differently. In VERBS Jake & Anita work to create a shared world
Artist Adorna joins them to bring their imagination to life and welcome you into their artistic world where time stands still.
PERFORMANCES
Friday 01 March: 7pm
Saturday 02 March: 5pm
Saturday 02 March: 8pm
Sunday 03 March: 5pm
Sunday 03 March 8pm
Duration 60 minutes. Entry free.