2                                                 17 April 2019

HUTT CITY COUNCIL

 

Arts and Culture Subcommittee

 

Minutes of a meeting held in the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 30 Laings Road
Lower Hutt on

 Wednesday 17 April 2019 commencing at 6.00pm

 

 

 PRESENT:                     Cr M Lulich (Chair)                                             

                                                                                                       

Cr T Lewis (Deputy Chair)

Community Representatives:

 

Pam Hindmarsh

Stage and Event Manager

Anita Mansell

Hutt Multicultural Council

Johannes Mueller-Welschof

Hutt Art Society

 

APOLOGIES:                Deputy Mayor D Bassett, Mayor WR Wallace, Ms C Fagan, Mr N Woods and Ms D Mulligan.

 

IN ATTENDANCE:      Ms P Sanderson, Community Arts Advisor

                                        Ms J Randall, Committee Advisor

 

 

PUBLIC BUSINESS

 

 

1.       APOLOGIES 

Resolved: (Cr Lulich/Mr Mueller-Welschof)                      Minute No. ART 19201

“That the apologies received from Deputy Mayor Bassett, Mayor Wallace, Ms Fagan, Mr Woods and Ms Mulligan be accepted and leave of absence be granted.”

2.       PUBLIC COMMENT

Comments are recorded under the item to which they relate.

3.       Presentations

a)

Mosaic Art Work at Waiwhetu Stream (19/457)

Ms R Silver, a long time mosaics artist, presented an update on a mosaic art work she had recently completed at the Waiwhetu Stream. She presented photos of the mosaic art work along with photos of other works created for restaurants, community centres, parks and schools. She described herself as an advocate for participatory art, working with local people, children and those with disabilities to create public art. She considered that public art could reduce crime by helping transform public areas.

Ms Silver described the local fauna and flora she had incorporated in the Waiwhetu Stream art work, and explained the process involved in its creation. She had engaged friends to help with the project and said creating art was an ideal way to connect a community.  She noted getting children involved was educational, teaching them about protecting wild life. She added children took ownership of art if they were involved in its creation and would look after it.  

In response to a question from a member, Ms Silver said the Waiwhetu Stream art work had taken two to three months of intermittent work to create.

 

b)

Proposed Boutique Multi-Performance Space (19/458)

Ms G Brophy, a local resident, actress, director and playwright, referred to a proposal to use the WELTEC owned Petone Courthouse as a boutique performance space for theatre. She explained there had originally been several designs mooted for the space but proposals had stalled due to increasing costs from earthquake strengthening requirements.  She noted the Court House was now in a state of neglect.

Ms Brophy considered buildings like the Petone Courthouse deserved preservation. She noted the Petone Courthouse contained some unique historic features. She added it had the potential to be a niche space, accessible to individuals and groups with small budgets. She advised Lower Hutt had a deficit of cultural centres for performance.  She concluded that creating performance spaces could benefit the city financially. She offered her services as a consultant to look into possibilities for the building. She suggested a philanthropic source could be found to help fund the project.

In response to a question from a member, Ms Brophy advised that applying a business case model to the project would be likely to show a negative benefit. She considered a different value system was needed for arts projects.  

The Chair advised he was in discussion with the Chief Executive of WELTEC regarding the Petone Courthouse.

 

c)

Bilingual Music (19/459)

An update by Mr N Woods on a bilingual music project was deferred to its next meeting to be held on 3 July 2019.

 

d)

Wellington Regional Amenities Fund – Update (19/467)

Members noted the memorandum from Mayor Wallace.

The Chair advised Mayor Wallace had been working with the Wellington Regional Amenities Fund Joint Committee to negotiate more benefit from the fund for Lower Hutt and other regional centres. He said a combined regional workshop would be held to discuss the matter further. He added Arts and Culture Subcommittee members would be notified and invited to attend.

     

4.       CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS    

          There were no conflict of interest declarations.

5.       Minutes

Resolved: (Cr Lulich/Ms Mansell)                                      Minute No. ART 19202

“That the minutes of the meeting of the Arts and Culture Subcommittee held on Wednesday, 27 February 2019, be confirmed as a true and correct record.”

           

6.       QUESTIONS   

          There were no questions.

 

 

 

There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 6.42 pm.

 

 

 

Cr M Lulich

CHAIR

 

 

 

CONFIRMED as a true and correct record

Dated this 3rd day of July 2019