A Southland group wants arts lovers across the region to come together to brainstorm ways to still be able to host events as a way to help the wellbeing of the community.
Arts Murihiku chairwoman Rebecca Amundsen said there were different opportunities to still promote the culture in the city under the Government’s Red traffic light settings.
"We all get disappointed every time we see that an event has been cancelled or postponed but we have a lot of people in our region who are really careful in planning and able to run events successfully," she said.
"There are ways to keep things going — we all just need to learn to think outside the square a little bit."
Mrs Amundsen said events like the Miharo Polyfest, the Surf to City and the Shakespeare in the Park were perfect cases of this thinking where organisations had to adapt in order to keep their events, she said.
Last month, for example, the trust that organises the annual Shakespeare’s theatrical performance, for example, spread about 600 people across several sessions during four days. Small groups or bubbles were set up for the public to be able to watch four acts in different spaces of Queens Park, respecting the Red light’s guidelines as well as keeping people safe.
"They were very smart in how they planned that event. When the country moved to Red and lots of people had to cancel their events. Shakespeare in the Park still went ahead.
"If they can do it, we all should be able to do it. It just means we need to think in different ways."
On March 17, the group will host a workshop for people to brainstorm and be inspired by similar initiatives.
Mrs Amundsen said small groups would be able to walk through different venues in the CBD to learn and speak with people with the aim to enhance the number of culture events in the community.
"Just to give somebody a bit of light and excitement. I know a lot of people feel depleted because their sport or event has been cancelled and it is bad for people’s psyche.
"Art is in a really good position to be able to provide activities and events in a way people can engage in a safe way as well give them a good feeling."
