PODCAST: Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels

Above: The New Zealand Comics Panel, featuring (from left): Dylan Horrocks, Adrian Kinnaird, Sarah Laing and Sam Orchard.

As a part of the Auckland Arts Festival 2013, the St Paul St Gallery at AUT hosted two comics exhibitions: Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics, an exhibition of work by contemporary New Zealand cartoonists, and Comics, Manga & Co. :The New Culture of German Comics, an overview of the current German comics scene.

Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics featured the work of over 30 local cartoonists, which you can revisit in my gallery of the exhibition HERE.

Above: Dylan Horrocks asking the tough questions!

Towards the end of the exhibition in mid-April I took part in a panel discussion on New Zealand Comics. Moderated by Dylan Horrocks, creator of Hicksville, the panel also featured Sarah Laing, novelist and cartoonist of the webcomic Let Me Be Frank, and Sam Orchard, also a webcomic cartoonist, as the creator of Rooster Tails.

You can now listen to a full podcast of the panel HERE.

We discuss how we got into comics, our backgrounds and working process, as well as lots of other fun bits and pieces related to New Zealand comics culture. Enjoy!

-AK!

PHOTO-RAMA: Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels

The Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels exhibition opening took place at the start of this month at the St Paul St Gallery in Auckland. 

The first major New Zealand Comics exhibition in over a decade, it features artwork from 30 local cartoonists, including: Akira Atsushi, Tim Bollinger, Greg Broadmore, Andrew Burdan, Tim Danko, Rufus Dayglo, Draw, Richard Fairgray, Chris Grosz, Dylan Horrocks, Mat Hunkin, Robyn E. Kenealy, Timothy Kidd, Adrian Kinnaird, Sarah Laing, Jared Lane, Roger Langridge, Barry Linton, Tim Molloy, Toby Morris, Stefan Neville & Clayton Noone, Sam Orchard, Ant Sang, Darren & Kelly Sheehan, Chris Slane, Ben Stenbeck, Mat Tait, Karl Wills and Colin Wilson.

It's on till the 12th of ApriI, so I urge you to go check it out while you can!

For those out-of-towners keen for a look, here's some photos from the opening:

Above: Dylan Horrocks with his artwork.

Above: Dylan Horrocks signs his work (as not all the artists were their to sign the walls, there was some signature forgeries involved...see if you can spot the difference!).

Above: Chris Slane.

Above: Ant Sang.

Above: A special appearance by Roger Langridge, who just happened to be in the country!

Above: Toby Morris.

Above: Artwork by Barry Linton.

Above: Artwork by Jared Lane.

Above: Artwork by Draw.

Above: Artwork by Robyn E. Kenealy.

Artwork by Karl Wills.

Artwork by Colin Wilson.

Artwork by Greg Broadmore.

Above: Artwork by Mat Tait.

Above: Some of my artwork.

Above: Artwork by Tim Bollinger.

Above: Artwork by Richard Fairgray.

Above: Artwork by Ben Stenbeck.

Above: Artwork by the Sheehan Bros.

Above: Artwork by Tim Kidd.

Above: Artwork by Sarah Laing.

Above: Artwork by Chris Grosz.

Above: Artwork by Stefan Neville & Clayton Noone.

Above: Artwork by Tim Molloy.

Above: Artwork/Instillation by Tim Danko.

Above: Artwork by Rufus Dayglo.

To highlight the exhibition as a part of the Auckland Arts Festival 2013, former comics writer turned journalist Stephen Jewell (Shards, The Olympians) interviewed Rufus Dayglo for the New Zealand Herald HERE. He discusses his early work featured in Wellington anthology Pistake with Simon Morse and David Tulloch.

Above: Roger Langridge, Cornelius Stone and Knuckles, reunited again!

For more on Roger Langridge's recent New Zealand visit, check out his posts over on his website starting HERE.

-AK!

EVENT: Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels Exhibition

Last year Dylan Horrocks curated a very successful exhibition of New Zealand Comics as a part of the Treviso Comic Book Festival in Italy (which you can revisit HERE). It only seemed fitting to bring it back home to share with the public, which is what will be happening this week.

Presented as a part of the Auckland Arts Festival, Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels is an expanded version of the Treviso exhibition, featuring the work over 30 creators, including: Akira Atsushi, Tim Bollinger, Greg Broadmore, Andrew Burdan, Tim Danko, Rufus Dayglo, Draw, Richard Fairgray, Chris Grosz, Dylan Horrocks, Mat Hunkin, Robyn Kenealy, Timothy Kidd, Adrian Kinnaird, Sarah Laing, Jared Lane, Roger Langridge, Barry Linton, Tim Molloy, Toby Morris, Stefan Neville & Clayton Noone, Sam Orchard, Ant Sang, Darren & Kelly Sheehan, Chris Slane, Ben Stenbeck, Mat Tait, Karl Wills and Colin Wilson.

The exhibition will be taking place in Gallery Two of the St Paul St Gallery, 40 St Paul street, Auckland central, from the 1st March-12th April. The exhibition opening will be taking place this Thursday, from 5.30pm. Come along and meet many of the comic creators in person, as well as the opportunity to buy some NZ comics from the exclusive NZCC stall!

Running co-currently, Gallery One of the St Paul St Gallery will feature: Comics, Manga & Co., The New Culture of German Comics. 

Curated by Matthias Schneider, a Berlin based curator and comic expert, this exhibition presents, 'two generations of German comics artists: the 1990s post reunification avant-garde that paved the way for the emergence of an independent culture of German comics, and a generation of younger comics artists, whose work embraces a newer aesthetic and narrative aspect'.

The featured artists include: Artists include: Arne Bellstorf, Martin Tom Dieck, Anke Feuchtenberger, Flix, Jens Harder, Sascha Hommer, Line Hoven, Ulf K., Reinhard Kleist, Isabel Kreitz, Mawil, Christina Plaka, Henning Wagenbreth. 

Line Hoven and Mawil will be attending the opening in person, which is presented in association with the Auckland Arts Festival 2013 and the Goethe-Institut New Zealand.

For more information you can visit the St Paul St Gallery website HERE, or join the Facebook event page HERE.

Look forward to seeing you there!

-AK!