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Showing posts from September, 2018

A SMALL ODE ON HOME SECURITY

Elicited by the decision of the Otago University Proctor to sneak around private student flats thieving Dunedin flats are cold and damp, Responsible for ague and cramp, With bath-sponge walls and landlord hassles, But Scarfies’ dives are still their castles (Though if you think it be more meet, Their hovel is their Castle Street), And though the boards that girt about Be rotten, who would dare to rout the fragile safety hole provides for harried rat where rat abides? At Troy, cynic Achilles slew Tenes and Troilus in full view Of Phoebus in his temple’s heart, Thus did the god guide Paris’ dart. But no Achilles is the Proctor, And many an Aotearoan doctor Inhaled the herb while at Med School, Ergo, I pray Sir, who’s the fool? A Proctor’s beat lies in the pale Of campus, Sir, so epic fail, And if you think such prowling fine, Dost likewise you the washing line Eye-up for dainty bits of lace To sniff and finger?                                     Such disgrac

MY SUBMISSION TO CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL ON THEIR ARTS STRATEGY POLICY

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Public notification that a strategy policy was even being developed has been appalling. That aside, if the CCC truly does want Christchurch to be "an innovative and exciting place to live, where our creativity helps us reach our potential", it must first address the following things: (1) Even before the quakes of 2010 and 2011, and massively exacerbated by them following, is the issue of affordable space, both for creative working environments (exhibitions, studios, rehearsal, performance etc), but also living space because creative practitioners for the most part don’t have a lot of disposable income. (2) Relevant to point (1), the cities that attract creative talent and sustain vibrant national and world-class cultural lives (Berlin, for example) combine a balance of affordable living, lifestyle and working with places to exhibit/perform, patronage and audiences. (3) The current post-quake arrangement of arts advocacy being essentially a duopoly between Arts V