In 2014, the inaugural Whau Arts Festival exploded onto Auckland’s creative scene with involvement from over 120 artists, 30 businesses, and thousands of audience members over four days of intense artistic activity in Avondale. Driven and curated by multi-disciplinary arts group Whau the People, the 2015 Festival is set to meet the 2014 bar, if not jump over it!

This year’s festival will include a range of projects from Whau-based professional artists, as well as a number of projects where professional artists have teamed up with community groups to co-create work. In the mix are collaborations with the local boy racer community; live-tattooing based on custom-made typography; a blacksmith working on site; a gig at the old-time-NZ surrounds of the RSA; a community theatre show based on the stories of the Avondale shopkeepers; a pop-up family portrait studio; and the Whau’s first-ever live lip-sync battle.

Keeping with idea of work that evolves over the four-day festival period, this year’s event will also have its own newspaper, Localise, which will be created on site every day, with a new issue published and available daily. The newspaper will include feature articles, reviews, photography, cartoons, and is offering free advertising to local businesses.

The Whau Arts Festival runs from 15 – 18 October, 2015, and will be centred around the Urban Plantation at 1915 Great North Road (opposite Avondale Primary School). All events are free, thanks to the support of the Whau Local Board.

See the full programme at whauthepeople.com