B.
Geoff Dixon Blue globe / Big ark 1998. Mixed media. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased 1999. Reproduced courtesy the artist
Blue Globe: Stories from Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
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You are invited to take part in Blue Globe: Stories from Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. It’s a chance to feed your curiosity, feel inspired and challenge your creative side. And it’s easy. All you have to do is choose any artwork from the Gallery’s collection online and create a short piece of writing inspired by it.
Entries are free and judged in three categories: 8–10 years, 11–14 years and 15–18 years. There will be prizes for the highly commended works and the winner of each category will have their piece published here on this website and in the September edition of Bulletin, our award-winning magazine. The winners will also be awarded a $100 voucher for the Design Store and they will be invited, with their families, to an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Christchurch Art Gallery when we're once again open to the public.
Blue Globe: Stories from Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū will run from Friday 10 April and will finish at midnight Friday 1 May 2020.
Competition rules and guidelines:
Who is the competition for?
School students between eight and eighteen years of age. Entries will be placed in one of three categories: Years 8–10, 11–4 and 15–18.
What do I have to do?
Simple – a short piece of creative writing inspired by one of the works in the collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. You can browse the collection online here. Entries must be original, should not exceed 1,000 words and must be in English. Entries must be typed and submitted electronically – please use Microsoft Word or a compatible programme and set your text in a legible font at a minimum of 11 point.
When, where and how do I send my entries?
All entries must be submitted by midnight on Friday 1 May 2020.
Submission must be made by email sent to schools@christchurchartgallery.org.nz
An application form must be completed and sent with each entry. A copy of the application form is available to download here – please complete and copy the form into the start of your piece of writing (or you can type directly onto the form).
Entries cannot be returned and participants are strongly advised to keep a copy of their original work. Christchurch Art Gallery reserves the right to publish entries, or excerpts from entries, for publicity, promotional and educational purposes but assures individual writers that full acknowledgement and/or credit will be given to them in the event of any such use.
Why should I enter?
The winner of each category will have their piece published on our website and in a forthcoming edition of Bulletin, the Gallery’s award-winning magazine. The winners will also be awarded a $100 voucher for the Design Store and will be invited, with their families, to an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Christchurch Art Gallery when the Gallery is once again open to the public. There will be several writer's packs and book prizes for highly commended works. The winners of the competition will be decided by a panel of judges. The decision of the judges will be final.
The results of the competition will be announced on this website on the evening of Friday 15 May 2020.
For more details contact schools@christchurchartgallery.org.nz.
Related reading: Covid-19
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Director’s Update
With a welcome shift back to Level 2 in our collective fight against COVID-19, we are delighted to reopen our doors to visitors.
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Bringing up the rear
We finish our handwashing poems with R A K Mason's Song of Allegiance, read, as was the Keats sonnet that started this series, by me.
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House Rules by Joanna Margaret Paul
We are delighted to present Joanna Margaret Paul's House Rules, read by its creator's daughter Magdalena Harris. Dishwasher tension will, we are sure, be familiar to all.
The poet also created the painting you see, which is called Barrys Bay: Interior with Bed and Doll.
And although it's a day after Mother's Day, let's today salute all mothers and their efforts, especially over the last few weeks.
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Running Water by Robyn Hyde
We don't want the poems to stop but dare we hope we are inching closer to re-opening? In the interests of playing it safe, let's keep washing our hands though, today with Visitor Host Dora Mullins and some exquisitely sad lines from Robin Hyde.
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Cat in the Dark by Margaret Mahy
A beautiful poem today by Margaret Mahy, beautifully read by 10 year old Elsie Billington.
A minute of pure handwashing pleasure.
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A Calm Day by Basil Dowling
Today our Graphic Designer Peter Bray reads about the sound of the ocean when the wind dies down. Only Basil Dowling puts it lot better than that in A Calm Day.
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I saw her face by Robin Judkins
We've had lots of poetry responding to nature but poetry's other great theme has been absent. We put that right today with a love poem by Robin Judkins. A simple expression of love you might say, but listen right to the end and then say with confidence what happens next.
That will take a minute so your hands will be sparkling. Today's reader is Visitor Host Tim Hobbs.
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And the animals shall inherit the earth
It’s been interesting observing how nature has quietly but very quickly reclaimed the earth since we have all gone into Covid-19 lockdown. My social media timelines have been peppered with images of animals wandering where humans can’t, boars roaming in Barcelona, peacocks in Dubai, deer in Japan and schools of tiny fish in the now clear waters of Venice to name a few. Related of course are the clearing skies around the world.
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To a child dancing in the wind by W B Yeats
Today our Business Administrator Jackie Heavey reads a poem by a compatriot of hers, William Butler Yeats, in which the innocence of childhood is envied.
Yes you can now go to the beach, but keep your distance and, of course, keep washing those hands.
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Spheres: An Online Video Project
Over the past few weeks, I have been working with fellow curator Nathan Pohio on an online video project that we’ve called Spheres. I’ve only recently joined the Gallery, so it’s been helpful to have something to focus on from home as well as a reason to be in touch with some interesting artists.