Workshop till you drop!
With our 2021 residency programme now in full flight, we've got a crop of new workshops on offer at our creative precincts. This is the perfect opportunity to tap into your creativity and try something completely new.
Our resident Swede, Hanna Wiskari (pictured), held her first Scandinavian Tune workshop in March and has the second installment scheduled for Sunday 18 April at our Modal precinct in Mt Albert. Says Hanna, "It's a chance to explore and learn a bit about traditional music from Scandinavia – Norway, Denmark but mainly Sweden. It's open to any instruments and abilities, and adapted to the level of the group. We focus on melodies and how to get the stylistics of the music. I teach it by ear – which is the traditional way to do it – but I provide sheet music as well. It's a way to challenge yourself to learn music in a different way."
Fellow OC resident Sonia Wilson is kicking off a new series of six workshops on Friday 16 April at our Hypatia precinct in Grafton. Listening Without & Within is described as 'an exploration of movement, voice and music'. Sonia is running these in collaboration with Alexandra Whitham, a full-time lecturer in voice and theatre for the Department of Performing & Screen Arts at Unitec. This collaboration will combine Sonia's experience in a capella singing, world music, sound healing and physical theatre with Alexandra's skills in voice and speech for theatre and film, and the integration of voice and movement practices. "The aim of this beginner-friendly workshop series will be to introduce students to new tools for accessing their own creativity, increasing self-confidence, listening and expressing, improving vocal agility, learning to improvise, and telling stories with body, voice and/or song," says Sonia.
Hot on the heels of her successful Born to Create evening of talks at Hypatia, OC resident Lucie Blaževská has organised two workshops for April, both at our Modal space. Learn & Create on Thursday 22 April is a workshop targetted specifically at women and girls, where Lucie will guide participants through the process of creating their own unique paper collage on canvas. The Design Your Own Skateboard Deck session on Saturday 24 April is just as it says on the tin, and open to everyone. At the end of the day you'll walk away with your own custom-designed work of skateboard art, ready to affix wheels to or to mount on your bedroom wall. If you've got an artsy skateboarder in your life with a birthday coming up, book them in!
If you're an instrumentalist or vocalist with your own cultural story to tell, or if you've just got a passion for world music, pencil in Saturday 15 May for the first Transglobal Music Session at Hypatia. This is another of Hanna Wiskari's projects, building on from her involvement with the international Ethno movement. But unlike Ethno – which is targetted at youth – this is open to all ages and abilities. Says Hanna, "It offers a way to connect with cultural music from various traditions. It's a way of sharing and learning from each other."
You can enquire directly about private lessons and workshops at any time by clicking on the residents' bios on our website.
