Dagmar Dyck is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, art educator and social justice advocate. She is a New Zealander of Tongan and German descent, living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.Dagmar graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland in 1995 and was the first woman of Tongan descent to do so. She has spent the last 30 years regularly exhibiting nationally and internationally with her works being held in significant public and private collections in New Zealand. Her prints and paintings are inspired by her cultural heritage and explore the textile practices of Tonga.We talk about her experiences and views of high school art education and the current state of art education in NZ.  She speaks of the communities she is connected to, how Pacifica artists have had more impact on the NZ art scene in the last 20 years and how these artists inspire her and influence her practice. She shares how her identity is a central part of her practice and we have a great discussion about her ideas around the use of cultural symbols in art and cultural appropriation.https://www.dagmardyck.com/ Ngā mihi thanks for listening!See the artist's work on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog You can follow us on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

Janet Hafoka is a visual artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, working primarily in the medium of photography.  Her art practice focuses on transience and time passing. Her current work explores both the uncertainty and beauty in the short lived. The centuries old fascination with the ‘golden hour’ is referenced, known as the brief period after sunrise and before sunset when the sun casts a golden light.  With decaying leaves and seed pods illuminated, falling and in flight, her current images seek to breathe life into nature past its prime. Through this process her work highlights value where existence is temporary. It also questions  how we depict and remember that which is no longer.Janet shares her experience returning to her passion for the arts and completing a degree  in visual arts in her early 40s. We discuss how she discovered her love of photography, how light, skies, movement and decay influence her work and her magpie qualities and love of collecting things. https://janethafoka.com/ https://www.instagram.com/janethafoka Ngā mihi thanks for listening!See the artist's work on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog You can follow us on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

Neville Parker has been a full time sculptor and illustrator since 1995 and he opened his first art gallery in 1996.Since then he has had 7 more distinctly different galleries including 1 in Auckland, 2 in Marlborough and  4 in the Nelson/Tasman region. He has represented more than 400 artists from a variety of disciplines in Aotearoa. His most recent Gallery, Church House Gallery in Motueka, opened in April this year.Neville is interested in helping our creative community members with a desire for a sustainable career in the visual arts to not just survive but to thrive. He is the host of the ARTWONK podcast - an art marketing show for visual artists and crafts people that unravels the problems and pitfalls of bringing products to market.We have a super interesting chat about how Neville went from the corporate world to becoming an artist and opening his first art gallery in Lorne Street, central Auckland initially as a way to show his work. He talks about how he has benefitted from artist communities and mentors, building relationships, as well as working collaboratively and holistically. We talk about his approach to the art market, his opinion of craft art verses fine art and his recommendations to artists for approaching a Gallery with their work.  Ngā mihi thanks for listening!See the artist's work on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog You can follow us on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

Sean Hill is a Kiwi Samoan emerging visual artist from Auckland, currently based in New Plymouth. His art practice is influenced by graffiti as well as his heritage, everyday life and the natural environment and includes painting outdoors, graphic design, installation, paintings and prints on clothing.As Gallerist Scott Lawrie says " Sean Hill is one of those rare discoveries - an emerging artist who was ‘doing his own thing’ while inventing a new visual language at the same time."In this episode Sean shares his experience studying visual arts for 4 years at AUT and how he felt he didn't find his style until well after his uni days. We talk about the elements within his abstract paintings and what they represent, how he feels about showing his work in group shows, his connections with the amazing Bradley Lane Project, Auckland's longest running street art festival in Glen Innes, Tāmaki, and we discuss the amazing 8m long painting he applied directly to the wall of the Scott Lawrie Gallery and what he gained from that experience.https://www.seananomaly.com/ Ngā mihi thanks for listening!See the artist's work on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog You can follow us on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

Auckland based Aimée Ralfini is an artist, design director and the founder of Art Ache.As an artist Aimée works in the digital space, collaborating with other artists to create “campaigns” of their work. Art Ache believes art is the most potent form of communication and artists are the litmus paper of society. It aims to make art and culture part of the everyday conversation and aims to assist intellectual and creative development, for the betterment of the local community and national identity. In this episode we talk about: how she loves to poke the bear; how and why she founded Art Ache;  Aimée's techniques for drawing people into the Auckland art scene and engaging with art; her marketing, writing, presenting, promoting and curating approaches; how she handles the trolls and her art activation campaigns throughout Aotearoa.     https://www.instagram.com/aimee_ralfinihttps://artache.com/Ngā mihi thanks for listening!See the artist's work on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog You can follow us on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043