5 – 7pm, Wed 16, 23, 30 July and 6 August.
Toi Pōneke Gallery
Free
Miki Seifert and William Franco
Join us on Wednesday evenings for an intimate gathering with the artists behind Azúcar/Sugar. Meet artists William Franco and Miki Seifert and engage in fascinating discussions about their inspirations, techniques, and personal connections to the sweet subject matter that shapes this unique installation.
Warm your hands and spark your curiosity with complimentary hot cocoa and handcrafted biscuits as you explore the artwork alongside its creators. This is your chance to discover the stories behind the pieces, ask questions, and experience art through meaningful conversation.
No formal presentations—just genuine artistic exchange in a welcoming atmosphere sweetened by good company and delightful refreshments.
Artists Biographies
Dr Miki Seifert
Miki Seifert has a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington and a B.A. in French and Political Science from Moravian College. Since 2007, she has lived in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Her body of work ranges from performances, installations and videos with her collaborator William Franco to solo work of mixed media paintings to writing and artbooks. Her movement training (Butoh, contact improvisation, ballet, circus arts and gymnastics) imbues her work with flow, timing, placement, and a balance between the improvised and the choreographed.
She is best known for “He rawe tona kakahu/She wore a becoming dress”, a Butoh performance about gender and colonisation. Her performative research is published in The Routledge Companion to Butoh Performance and the Brazilian Journal on Presence Studies.
She studied Butoh with Diego Pinon, Oguri, and Shinichi Momo Koga; contact improvisation with Carmella Herman; and modern dance at the Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey Studios in New York.
Dr William Franco
William Franco has a B.A. in Fim and Video from California Institute for the Arts, M.F.A. in Installation - Digital Media from Massey University, and a PhD and Graduate Diploma in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Victoria University of Wellington. Since 2007 when he was a Fulbright Fellow, he has lived in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.
A Chicano (Zapotec and Mixtec), he is a border crosser, choosing the best form and media to embody his performative ideas. His multi-disciplinary approach grows out of his collaboration with the original members of The Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo.
His installations reflect his technical expertise in lighting, audio and video honed through his extensive production experience in film, video, sound and theatrical/dance performances in site-specific, studio and museum settings. He is best known for “The Illustrated Chicano,” his interactive installation on being a Chicano in diaspora, and mounting the HAKO Virtual Projection Mapping Festival during the COVID pandemic.
Azúcar/Sugar
12 July - 8 August
What is the connection between sugar, colonisation, global trade and climate change?
Azúcar/Sugar is an explorative gallery experience that uses sugar sculptures, videos and digital art to trace how European and US conquest terraformed the environment from a living entity that encompassed the living spirits of the land, water, plants, animals and humans into an inert repository of resources to be harvested and harnessed for profit. Azúcar/Sugar is the latest installation from With Lime, the long-standing collaboration between William Franco and Miki Seifert.