Why visit Wanaka in autumn 2007

Dorothy-05/04/2007

Central Otago is famous for the magnificent autumn colours as the willow and poplar leaves turn gold as winter approaches. These trees around Lake Wanaka are particularly beautiful in autumn and attract thousands of visitors to the area. Enterprising local people have organised The Festival of Colour – a blend of music, stage attractions and visual arts to enrich the experience of the visitors. This year added to the other features is the Earth from Above exhibition of the aerial photographs of the planet taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

The gold of autumn leaves is reflected in the water and carpets the bank of the Clutha River near Lake Wanaka Photo source: Lake Wanaka Tourism Click here to view a larger version

The Festival of Colour The people of Wanaka now present the Festival of Colour to provide entertainment for the crowds of visitors. The 2007 programme presents six days and nights of art, drama, music, comedy and dance from national and international artists and performers, set against the autumnal backdrop of Lake Wanaka.

Festival Music 24 to 29 April This year’s festival highlights include music from the rousing Jubilation Choir, Irish folk singer Mary Coughlan and top New Zealand pianists Michael Houstoun and Mike Nock together with performances from the New Zealand Army Band and lively Eastern European gypsy group, Doch.

Stage attractions On stage, will be the award-winning comedy, The Tutor, and three solo performances –Hatch, Odyssey and Playing Miss Havisham, and evocative dancing from The Lab choreographed by Raewyn Hill.

Debating Topics will include “Is it art?”, “Southern Man, Southern Woman” and “Writing for Stage and Screen” and will feature high profile personalities such as Michel Tuffery, Oscar Kightley and Sam Neill.

Visual Arts The visual arts component of the Festival includes the astounding Earth from Above giant outdoor photographic exhibition as well as a unique exhibition of leading New Zealand artists from private Wanaka collections and a series of art installations around the township.

Venues Festival venues range from the magnificent Infinity Crystal Palace to the Wanaka lakefront. The touring programme visits locations steeped in local heritage such as the Bannockburn Village Hall and Arrowtown Cheese Factory and some of Lake Wanaka’s most beautiful private gardens will open their gates to reveal their spectacular autumn colours.

Earth from Above International photographic exhibition on the Wanaka waterfront

The Wanaka lakefront has been changed into a giant 24-hour gallery to present the world famous international photographic exhibition, Earth from Above, an aerial portrait of our planet, from March 9 to April 29 2007, concluding during the Southern Lakes Festival of Colour. It is free to view and is on display 24 hours a day.

Earth from Above International photographic exhibition on the Wanaka waterfront Photo source: Simon Darby – Alpine Image Company Click here to view a larger version

Yann Arthus-Bertrand – photographer The photographs were taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand – an internationally recognised French photographer with a great concern for the state of planet Earth.

When he went with his wife to study the behaviour of lions in Kenya he took some of his observations from a hot air balloon. This developed in him a keen awareness of the beauty of the earth and also led him to experiment with aerial photography.

His next venture on his return to France was as a photo journalist on themes of adventure, sport and nature, and this led to an assignment in Rwanda photographing anthropologist, Dian Fossey, with mountain gorillas. He became more and more interested in aerial photography and his work was published in a number of famous international magazines.

Work with UNESCO Then in 1990 with the ecological Science Department of UNESCO as patron for the project he set about creating a scientific databank of the earth as seen from the air. 120 images from this project have been assembled for Earth from Above.

The photographer seeks to make us think about the impact we each make on the earth and what part we can play in its preservation.

There is a wide variety of landscapes exhibited and the visually stunning, large-scale images (1.8m x 1.2m) are a report on the state of the planet, revealing the ‘human footprint’ made in the name of progress.

It took fourteen years to produce this exhibition. It has now been seen in London, Montreal, Moscow, Melbourne and Wellington.

Local groups united to bring the exhibition to Wanaka Wanaka is the first South Island centre where the exhibition has been mounted. It is there because of the efforts of a consortium of arts and environmental groups led by the Aspiring Arts and Culture Trust and the Festival of Colour.

“This is a must-see, an outdoor photographic exhibition is mind-boggling to begin with and then when you see the images, you really can’t miss it,” said Aspiring Arts and Culture Trust chairman, Jeri Elliot. “What is also great about this exhibition is the unity of all the different bodies that have got together to bring it to Wanaka, let’s hope we can do it again sometime.”

Impact of images heightened by the setting Festival of Colour director, Philip Tremewan said the spectacular images set against the scenic backdrop of autumnal Lake Wanaka would inspire all who saw them.

The only chance to see Earth from Above in the South Island “We’re expecting people to travel from all over the South Island to enjoy this unique exhibition. It’s the only opportunity to see Earth from Above in the South Island and it’s sure to stay in peoples’ minds for many years to come,” he said.

Sustainable development the message of the exhibition This visual spectacle also raises awareness of the world we live in. Each image is accompanied by narrative highlighting the related environmental issues. The core message of Earth from Above is sustainable development and the need to adopt more sustainable, environmental and social practices.

Assistance provided for school groups to study the issues raised School groups can study the environmental and sustainability issues raised by the images with curriculum packages provided for their visits.

United group activity secured the showing of the exhibition This exhibition is brought to the Wanaka waterfront by: