Semi Permanent Aotearoa 2023
08 — 10 November 2023
St James Theatre, Pōneke Wellington
Semi Permanent Aotearoa, the country’s premier festival of creativity and design, is set to return to the country’s capital of Wellington. Taking place across two venues within the city, from Wednesday 8th until Friday 10th November 2023, the festival will welcome thousands of attendees from across the Asia Pacific region for three days of keynote talks, panel discussions, workshops and masterclasses that will serve to educate and inspire.
The breadth of this year’s program is reflective of creative practice in 2023, including graphic, product, game and motion design, fashion, illustration, publishing, visual art, digital and brand strategy, and business innovation. Each year, Semi Permanent takes the opportunity to explore a universal idea that most aligns to the challenges and opportunities of the time. For 2023, we introduce the platform ‘REFORMATION’. “We thought the world would seek to build itself back as it was, but it’s increasingly clear that our collective future cannot—nor should not—look anything like its past,” says curator Mitchell Oakley Smith. “We live amidst a once-in-a-generation chance to write past wrongs, reform seemingly immutable practices, and redesign the world in a shape we’d like to see.” “One look around will tell you the seeds have already been sown: the promise of a borderless Web3 world; the reclaiming of time via remote work capabilities; the dismantling of industrial hierarchies and traditions that prioritised some consistently over others. And in its place, something new is beginning to emerge: new creative languages, new ways to communicate, to create, organise, disrupt, rebuild. New ways to speak, hear, interpret, understand, and connect. Less barriers to entry, and more possibility for brilliance. With all the chips seemingly thrown in the air—which of these do we catch, and which do we let go?”
Highlights
Speakers & Artists
Schedule (Local Times)
9:00 AM
Doors Open
10:00 AM
Masterclass ∙ 1 hour
Fit To Print: Design Masterclass with Ben Grandgenett
This masterclass will dive into Ben Grandgenett’s iterative design process for select projects from his work as Design Director at The New York Times Magazine.
11:00 AM
Break
11:30 AM
Workshop ∙ 1 hour
What's the secret to a happier, healthier creative industry? Presented by Streamtime
Join Andy Wright for a deep dive into our relationship with mental health and wellbeing in creative industries. Discover the conditions and healthy habits that help us to thrive, and the cultures, processes and relationships to avoid or fix.
12:30 PM
Break
1:00 PM
Fireside Chat ∙ 1 hour
Making a Living in the Arts, with Rajiv Surendra
Actor-turned-visual artist Rajiv Surendra shares his experience and approach to navigating a life and career in the arts, with practical advice for those wishing to combine the two, while in conversation with Art Now and The Art Paper’s Becky Hemus.
2:00 PM
Break
2:30 PM
Panel ∙ 1 hour
Navigating The Future of Independent Publishing in Aotearoa New Zealand
Join vendors from the Art & Design Fair, including The Art Paper's Becky Hemus, Ted Whitaker of Black Wax Press and Megha Kapoor for a wide-ranging discussion about navigating new paths in Aotearoa's shifting publishing landscape.
3:30 PM
Break
4:00 PM
Panel ∙ 1 hour
Freelance by design: Behind-the-scenes of Aotearoa's independent studios, presented by Squarespace
Join Ruby Jones, Becca O’Shea and Nicole Macdonald in conversation about the risks and rewards of establishing an independent design business as an extension of multidisciplinary practices that encompass branding, illustration, publishing and UX design.
8:00 AM
Doors Open
8:30 AM
Theatre Doors Open
8:50 AM
Cultural Welcoming, Opening Titles and Introduction
9:00 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Maru Nihoniho – Metia Interactive
Exploring how authentic Indigenous storytelling through culture-based games creates a powerful outlet for engagement and learning.
9:30 AM
10:00 AM
Break
10:30 AM
Summit ∙ 2 hours
Future State 002: The Turning Point
Presented by Spark Business Lab, Leyla Acaroglu, Justin Kamine and Eva Kruse explore the next era of sustainability and technological innovation, unpacking the opportunities of circular design, resource maximisation and open source collaboration.
12:30 PM
Break
1:20 PM
Experience ∙ 10 minutes
Breathwork Session presented by Ārepa and The School of Modern Meditation
How we breathe has the ability to reform not just our physical bodies, but how we think and feel. In this short Meditative Breathwork practice, Claire Robbie will encourage deep, restorative breaths cultivating an alert but calm state for the afternoon.
1:30 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Benjamin Watkinson – G . F Smith
Global Brand Director of G . F Smith, Benjamin Watkinson, brings the brand behind the world's finest papers to the stage of Semi Permanent Aotearoa.
2:00 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Megha Kapoor – Vogue India
Megha Kapoor reflects on her journey as a South Asian creative working as part of the Diaspora before moving inside the system on joining Vogue India, exploring the tensions and current paradigms at play regarding South Asian representation in the media.
2:30 PM
Talk ∙ 1 hour
Ben Grandgenett – The New York Times Magazine
Brooklyn-based graphic designer Ben Grandgenett will guide audiences through the process of assembling the award-winning work he creates in his capacity as Design Director for The New York Times Magazine from start to finish.
3:30 PM
Break
4:00 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Ruby Jones
Illustrator Ruby Jones on managing a very sudden and unexpected spotlight; navigating the world of social media as a creative; and the importance of making work that’s quietly powerful.
4:30 PM
Talk ∙ 1 hour
Rajiv Surendra
Learning to See: Through his journey of learning how to paint with watercolours, Rajiv Surendra has gained insight into a method of looking not just at the world around him, but at life itself.
5:30 PM
Opening Night Drinks and Art & Design Fair
8:30 AM
Doors Open
9:00 AM
Art & Design Fair Open
9:00 AM
Theatre Doors Open
9:20 AM
Introduction & Opening Titles
9:30 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Tyrone Ohia – Extended Whānau
Tyrone Ohia on the studio's Māori-centred design approach and how this shapes the studio's thinking and values, creating new ways to think about graphic design and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.
10:00 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Emma Lewisham
Founder of her eponymous evidence-based, natural skincare line, Emma Lewisham on the power of curiosity.
10:30 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
James R Ford
James R Ford examines the experience of the experience, unpacking how individual perception is the bridge between what we experience and our interpretation of that experience.
11:00 AM
Break
11:30 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Helen Ratner
Artist and animator Helen Ratner shares the journey of finding her style and guides audiences through a step-by-step walkthrough of her process.
12:00 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Simon Devitt
We trust our eyes too much: Simon Devitt on revisiting the creative process in photography of architecture.
12:30 PM
Experience ∙ 30 minutes
Church Road Art Initiative
Presented in partnership with Church Road and MTG Hawke's Bay, artist Reece King appears in conversation with editor of The Art Paper and Art News Aotearoa, Becky Hemus, as the winner of the inaugural Church Road Art Initiative.
1:00 PM
Break
1:50 PM
Experience ∙ 10 minutes
Breathwork Session presented by Ārepa and The School of Modern Meditation
Breathwork can transmute emotional blocks, unravel stress and bring limiting beliefs into a place we can see them for what they are. In this session Claire Robbie uses breathwork, binaural beats and verbal cues to help you expand your creative capacity.
2:00 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Alexandra Popova & Constantine Gavrykov – adidas and Decathlon
The future of e-Commerce will be powered by AI, boosted by predictive analytics and solidified by advanced language processing. Explore the customer experience 20 years from now and trace back those game-changing inventions that have emerged already.
2:30 PM
Talk ∙ 45 minutes
Sir Richard Taylor
The five-time Academy Award-winning co-founder of Wētā Workshop appears in an extensive conversation about the enormous international impact of this homegrown film superpower, whose credits include The Lord of the Rings, Thor, Avatar and Black Panther.
3:15 PM
Talk ∙ 45 minutes
Ta-ku
Recording artist, photographer and creative director Ta-ku explores the art of navigating emotional responses through creative expression in conversation with Molawin Evangelista, the co-founder and creative director of creative studio PLATFORM.
Information
- Home of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the St James Theatre is the jewel in the crown of Wellington's flourishing theatre scene.More than just a venue for performing arts - although it plays host to a variety of dance, drama, opera, comedy and cabaret every year - the theatre’s proscenium arch and historic decorative interior also make for a unique and memorable venue for functions, conferences and onstage dinners.Located in the heart of Wellington's entertainment district this venue has the capacity to stage music & theatre performances and host conferences of great magnitude.
Is there mobility seating?
For each ticket for a wheelchair space purchased by a disabled individual or another person at his or her request, one additional ticket in the same row and contiguous with the wheelchair space shall be made available for purchase (provided they are available at time of purchase). We will provide a solid seat as the companion seat in wheelchair accessible reserved seating areas. The St James Theatre has eight accessible spaces and eight companion seats located in the stalls on the ground floor of the venue. Elevator access is available from the ground floor. Wheelchairs are available at the venue but require you to give advanced notice so they can ensure they are on-site during the event
Is there reduced mobility access?
Stalls — The entrance is via the ground floor with no stairs.
Dress Circle — Access is either via the stairs or elevator. There are a few steps as you enter the theatre seating space, therefore it is not suitable for wheelchairs.
Grand Circle — Access is via stairs only.
When seated, walkers need to be stored under your seat for the duration of the show, to avoid creating a safety hazard. If you need additional assistance at the venue, please ask our friendly staff, who are trained to help.What if I'm visually impaired?
Guide dogs are welcome at the St James Theatre. Live captioning will be provided for the duration of the talks program. If you need additional assistance at the venue, you can ask their friendly staff, who are trained to help.What if I'm hearing impaired?
The St James Theatre is equipped with an audio loop for patrons with hearing impairments. The loop covers all levels of the theatre and uses an infrared system with receivers and headphones.Closed captioning
Live captions will be available for all keynote and featured speaker sessions. These will be manually provided by a professional captioner. These create an inclusive meeting experience for participants who may not otherwise be able to hear speakers and sounds at the event. They also provide access and benefit other attendees such as those who might have distractions or non-native English speakers.
Partners
