Public Programme: The Tomorrow People

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Friday 21 July 6pm

Adam Art Gallery
Exhibition opening 

Join us for the preview of The Tomorrow People. The exhibition will be opened by Green Party candidate Chlöe Swarbrick. As a one-night-only-event, selected attendees will exhibit new experimental clothing produced especially for the opening by art/fashion label Blue Blank.


Saturday 22 July 2–4pm

Adam Art Gallery
Exhibition tour

Join several of the artists and curators Christina Barton, Stephen Cleland & Simon Gennard for an introduction to The Tomorrow People exhibition.


Saturday 29 July 4–6pm

Pyramid Club, 272 Taranaki Street, Wellington
Improbable futures forum I
Post-institutional practices: new collaborations
Walter Langelaar, Netherlands-born, Wellington-based artist and sub-cultural activist chairs the first of three forums in which artists and organisers discuss the potential and challenges of non-institutional artist-led activities that posit new forms of collectivity and new platforms for practice. This forum is a partnership with the Cultivating Creative Capital theme at Victoria University.


Saturday 12 August 4.30–6.30pm

Aro Valley Community Centre, 48 Aro Street, Aro Valley
Improbable futures forum II
Beyond left and right?
Future citizenship, its forms and responsibilities
Tim Corballis, Wellington-based writer, chairs our second forum where with Morgan Godfery, Laura O’Connell-Rapira, Dylan Taylor, and Faith Wilson, the future of politics is debated. This forum is a partnership with the Cultivating Creative Capital theme at Victoria University.


Friday 18 August 12–1pm

Adam Art Gallery
Lunchtime concert
New works by instrumental/vocal composition students in partnership with the New Zealand School of Music.


Friday 25 August 12–1pm

Adam Art Gallery
Emerging writers’ workshop I
Using The Tomorrow People exhibition, Simon Gennard and Hanahiva Rose provide insights into how they approach their critical writing, with a view to enabling new writers to tackle the task of art criticism.


Saturday 9 September 4–6pm

Adam Art Gallery
Improbable futures forum III
After criticism: writing now

Writer and arts editor of The Pantograph Punch, Lana Lopesi leads a discussion about the nature of writing now, exploring the new platforms and new kinds of writing that are flourishing in the digital domain and the new material forms writing is taking. This forum is a partnership with the Cultivating Creative Capital theme at Victoria University.


Friday 15 September 12–1pm

Adam Art Gallery
Emerging writers’ workshop II
With entries for the Chartwell Student Art Writing Prize due 17 September, join Christina Barton and Stephen Cleland for some practical tips about how to write for a particular context and how to make the most out of your readings of specific art works.


21–22 September 10–5pm Thursday–Friday, with an informal presentation at 5pm Friday

Adam Art Gallery
Shoe School with Louise Clifton
Visit Adam Art Gallery to watch Dunedin-based artist Louise Clifton run her sandal-making workshop. She recently undertook a residency in Japan, where she learnt the art of shoemaking from a Japanese master known for his manufacture of bespoke footwear. At the end of the workshop participants will showcase their results and Louise will introduce how she has adapted her art-school training to running a small craft-based business. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/2jB3iwy


Saturday 23 September 11am–5pm

Adam Art Gallery
Election day special
Full day live reading by Rhydian Thomas 

As a special one-off-event, we are pleased to host Wellington writer Rhydian Thomas for a public reading of his debut book Milk Island. Described by Lawrence & Gibson‘s editor Murdoch Stephens as ‘a dystopian near-future novel’, Milk Island is set in New Zealand with the 2023 election quickly approaching. Within Thomas’s humorous and speculative narrative his four main characters become embroiled in a web of prisons, politics, tourism, and the media. Will Milky Moo, the nation’s favourite genetically enhanced super-cow, survive this very black comedy about death and dairying?

Live-streaming from the gallery throughout the day, Thomas will situate the concerns of his fictional narrative against the actual context of the 2017 General Election. Place your vote and then visit the Adam Art Gallery throughout the day to hear Thomas’s spoken performance. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be served.


Friday 29 September 7–9pm

Adam Art Gallery
Closing party
Join us for a live gig in The Tomorrow People exhibition to mark the final weekend of the exhibition. Cash bar.