Speeches

Launch of exhibition 'Auckland On-Stage' at Auckland City Libraries

16.10.2006

Good evening everybody - I am delighted to be here tonight to join a gathering of performing arts lovers and practitioners and to launch an exhibition that will inform and enrich all those who share a passion for New Zealand's arts.

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatau katoa

Good evening everybody – I am delighted to be here tonight to join a gathering of performing arts lovers and practitioners and to launch an exhibition that will inform and enrich all those who share a passion for New Zealand’s arts.

As Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage it is a real pleasure to be here at an event that celebrates both the arts and our heritage. It is indeed a powerful mix when we combine the vibrancy, excitement and creativity of the performing arts with the history, scholarship and rigour of archiving.

In addition, of course, as Minister responsible for both the National Library and Auckland Issues I have a fair mix of interests in the fabulous collection from which this exhibition has been drawn.

Wearing my Auckland hat, I note how the extraordinary content and range of this exhibition reflects the richness, diversity and solid history of Auckland’s performing arts. Spending so much of my time in Wellington, I am accustomed to the claims of that city about its cultural capital. I am always delighted to head back North and to take pleasure in the talent, imagination and colour of this city’s arts.

And we now have statistical proof of what everybody here already knew and celebrated – Aucklanders do indeed love their arts! The recent research published by Auckland City in partnership with Creative New Zealand informs us that three-quarters of Aucklanders feel proud of the arts in Auckland; 87% consider it important for Auckland to be known as a place that supports great arts; 76% agree that the arts contribute positively to the economy and 82% agree that the arts define who we are as New Zealanders.

That last statistic is, I believe, particularly important – it refers to something close to both my and this government’s heart: national identity. We have established ‘enhancing national identity’ as one of government’s three key goals for the next ten years. National identity is a very broad term.

It covers a huge range of aspects of our lives and, may I say, ministerial portfolios! It’s a term that covers who we are; what we do; where we live; and how we are seen by the world. From how we conduct ourselves in international trade negotiations and in our foreign policy decisions, to our relationship with the land we live on; from how we care for our heritage to how we express ourselves through our arts.

It’s about New Zealand's development as a confident, cohesive and self-aware society with a sense of its evolving culture and identity. Clearly, our arts and heritage are a vital component of this. The arts help us to both enhance and reflect our cultural identity. Through presenting and participating in the arts we explore what it means to be a New Zealander and contribute to that growing and evolving body of shared experiences that make up our ‘culture’.

This exhibition presents us with the legacy of those shared experiences. Here we see invaluable treasures from Auckland’s and New Zealand’s performing arts history. I would challenge every visitor to Auckland On-Stage to leave without seeing or experiencing something that recalls a moment from their own lives; something that unfolds memories of a time, a place and an experience that entertained, touched, invigorated or challenged him or her. This is an exhibition that breathes nostalgia!

But, we must remember that the exhibition is more than just a trip down memory lane. It has evolved from and represents a stunning collection that will provide a rich and accessible stock of primary source material for historians, researchers, writers and those with an interest in our performing arts heritage.

The preservation and accessibility of such documentary heritage is of huge importance and benefit. Too often companies, which are understandably focussed on their current or upcoming productions, overlook the value of the documents from their last production. Those leftover and forgotten papers may become vital clues to a biographer, an exciting new perspective to a researcher, supporting evidence for a academic thesis or enlightenment and inspiration for a new generation director wanting to re-present a New Zealand masterpiece.

And it is thanks to Auckland City Libraries, the Auckland City Council, the Auckland Library Heritage Trust and the Lottery Environment and Heritage Committee that this resource is now available for future generations to explore. It is thanks, too, to the many individuals who have had the foresight, commitment and tenacity to rescue these treasures from oblivion. I hope many more people will be inspired to contribute to what I am sure will prove to be a vital and compelling source of knowledge about New Zealand’s arts history.

Congratulations to everybody involved – I have great pleasure in officially declaring Auckland On-Stage open.

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