ARTS ACCESS AWARDS: What a night of whānau, community, inclusion, leadership and talent it was! Seven award categories were presented at the Arts Access Awards 2017 in Parliament on Tuesday 4 July, an event hosted by the Hon Nicky Wagner, Minister for Disability Issues. Read more about the recipients and Highly Commended citations.

Accolade for Olivier Lacoua

5 July 2017
Commitment, inclusion, community and leadership are just some of the words that describe Wellington accessibility champion Olivier Lacoua, about to head south to manage the Novotel Christchurch Airport hotel opening in February 2018.Olivier, General Manager of CQ Hotels Wellington from 2010 to June 2017, is proof that it’s good business to be socially responsible and inclusive. Read more about Olivier Lacoua

Exhibition marks anniversary of art space

8 June 2017
An exhibition showcasing the work of Room 5 artists will open on Monday 12 June, coinciding with the second anniversary of the art studio based at the Phillipstown Community Hub in Christchurch. Called Wharenui, it celebrates the studio as a place in the community where artists with experience of mental illness can explore their creative world in the company of like-minded people. It features sculpture, printmaking, painting, drawing and mixed media. Read more about Room 5 

ACTIVE youth in concert with Julian Raphael

24 May 2017
Composer Julian Raphael and community group ACTIVE will present a new work, We’re Gonna Get Along, in concert on Saturday 27 May. The song cycle was composed by Raphael as the 2016 SOUNZ Community Commission for the young people’s singing group. Read more about Julian Raphael and the ACTIVE project 

Making good things at Te Manawa’s NOA

22 May 2017
“Making good things in life is what I like doing,” says Anaru Davis, co-facilitator of an art space situated in the sun-lit foyer of Palmerston North’s Te Manawa, Museum of Art, Science and History. Called NOA Open Studio, the space has been running in the museum foyer since November 2016. It’s a place where anyone in the community can join in and be creative. Read more about NOA Open Studio 

Audio described musical at Circa Theatre

26 April 2017
Circa Theatre in Wellington will present a touch tour and an audio described performance of Penny Ashton’s new musical, Olive Copperbottom, on Sunday 21 May. Following the sold-out successes of Promise and Promiscuity, Ashton swaps Austen for Dickens and brings orphaned hero Olive and a squalid gaggle of Victorian characters to pox-ridden London life. Read more about Olive Copperbottom