Poroporoaki

Published on 02/24/2009

The poroporoaki happened at the end of the Scanz symposium. Te Huirangi Waikerepuru encouraged participants to stand and say something that summed up their own experiences. He talked about the significance of the poroporoaki and made clear that no one was to leave until it was complete and carried out by either a man or a woman on his left of the room and followed by the opposite sex on the other side. The gaze was turned back on the audience and shifted them/us from an individualised space to a human collective presence.
The poroporoaki was a transformative experience. Private thoughts were made public, songs in French and Irish were sung, participants recognised the significance of standing and speaking as an appropiate way to give meaning to their experience and to be able to leave the symposium feeling closure and satisfaction.

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Symposium 2009: Interconnections

grant corbishley

Grant Corbishley is a senior lecturer and coordinator of the Collaborative Projects Program at WelTec, Wellington, NZ.

Since 1986 he has been involved in many participatory and cross discipline collaborative projects that have been exhibited internationally.

Currently engaged in research that involves participatory cartography, wireless and mobile technologies, environmental activism, and community concepts of stewardship,
Grant is interested in projects using new technologies that focus on adapting to climate change by improving human coexistence, and community presence. Work that supports social innovation and sustainability in terms of cultures, environment and community.

grant corbishley's Stories

Intercreate.org is a project based research centre which consists of an international network of people interested in interdisciplinary creativity. Project foci include interdisciplinary projects, education initiatives and residencies. Intercreate is a not-for-profit trust that is registered with the Charities Commmission of New Zealand.

About SCANZ
Solar Circuit Aotearoa New Zealand (SCANZ) is New Zealand’s premier art and technology event and involves a symposium, artist residency, and public exhibition. It occurs every two years, and has typically involved a mix of Aotearoa New Zealand and international artists, producers, theorists and curators many of whom are leading practitioners. Held in New Plymouth, SCANZ 2011 will be the third event.

SCANZ 2011: Eco sapiens
A symposium followed by a residency is to be held late January to early February 2011 in New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand. It seeks to bring a range of knowledge groups together to investigate the cultural roots of climate change and seek out poetically pragmatic approaches to encouraging the cultural and behavioural shifts required. Initial expressions of interest are due 21 November, 2009. Please see here for more details.

SCANZ 2009 international participants included Nina Czegledy, Brett Stalbaum, Sally Jane Norman, Jacques Sirot, Sarah Cook, Andrew Gryf Paterson, Dan Torop, Melinda Rackham and Dominic Smith of The Polytechnic. Participants based in New Zealand included Lisa Reihana, Stella Brennan, Sean Kerr, Rachel Rakena, Natalie Robertson, Danny Butt, Herman Pi’ikea Clarke, Alex Monteith, Naomi Lamb, Caro McCaw, Jon Bywater, Julian Priest (UK/NZ) and many others.

Occurring along side the 2009 residency was a two day symposium (February 7 and 8), presentation evening & exhibition (opened February 7), and curatorial workshop.

Intercreate.org gratefully acknowledges the support and partnerships of:

Creative New Zealand

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery

Puke Ariki

Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT)

TSB Community Trust

and...
Phosphor Essence Ltd.