Tag: travel

  • The New York Times series on young Africa

    The New York Times is running a series of articles focusing on the youth of Africa. The “youth boom” of the continent is changing both it and the wider world, altering perceptions and driving change through invention, creativity and energy. There is plenty to read in the articles including pieces about artists, designers and makers…

  • Whirimako Black

    Maori soul singer, performer and actress, Whirimako Black (Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit) is on tour and has just played the West Coast. One of the surprising things about many of the small settlements in Aotearoa New Zealand is the vitality and creativity of their art scenes. Barrytown, a very small township…

  • Think macrame was over in the 1970s?

    It is time to think again! Laurentine Périlhou, a French artist who has been working with the craft for almost ten years, is making waves with the reinvention of this ancient and traditional craft from the Arab world.

  • Conversation and Cloth: Caroline McQuarrie

    Conversation and Cloth: Caroline McQuarrie

    The last Conversation and Cloth event for the year will be a chat with artist Caroline McQuarrie. Caroline has roots in the West Coast and explores histories through photography, video and domestic crafts. In this Conversation With we will be talking about her works in woven images. The venue for the event will be the…

  • Of cloth, peacocks and Scandinavia

    Of cloth, peacocks and Scandinavia

    Each month a talk about something in the textile collection in Greymouth Mawhera is held in the Regent Theatre. This month’s event was about art textiles including textiles as artistic mediums, art on textiles, and textiles as art. The subject ranged from the French mid-century printed, woven and needleworks, created by artists and designers as…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a new audio playlist is curated to go with the blog. The pieces chosen relate to the stories on the blog or to current events. To listen click on the player above. If you have a paid subscription to Spotify you will hear the compete tracks, while free subscriptions will include advertisements. If…

  • The New Zealand Agricultural Show 2023

    The New Zealand Agricultural Show 2023

    There cannot be many things more pleasurable than going to an agricultural show, especially when there are highlights like lambs, calves, tractors and duck herding! The show is held in Otautahi Christchurch each year and we have been eagerly anticipating going to see the wool on show and to speak to farmers and producers. It…

  • Lincoln University’s art collection

    This week a visit to Lincoln University library led to the campus collection of art. The University, the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the Southern Hemisphere, was created in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury, was made independent of the University of Canterbury. There was no collecting policy in place but after the sale of cigarettes…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a list of music that relates to the blog or to current events is curated on Spotify. Readers can listen to the songs by following this link or by clicking on the play button on the player above. Paid subscribers will hear all the music, free-to-listen subscribers will hear the music with advertisements…

  • The shape of wool

    The shape of wool

    Fire! The word sometimes is warming and comforting, and sometimes it is terrifying, especially when it comes to the power fire has to destroy lives and livelihoods. In 2021 a fire ripped through a large area of land in the Xhariep District of the Free State of South Africa, destroying, amongst others, a merino wool…