Episode 28: Body builders and highland dancers, with Fiona Clark

Fiona Clark’s new exhibition Raw Material recently opened at the Govett Brewster Art Gallery and Len Lye Centre.

Clark is interested in how dancers and body builders use gesture, pose and movement to engage audiences and sometimes, to challenge gender stereotypes. She describes the exhibition as an ‘archive’ of both her own work, and the stories of a ‘who’s who’ of New Zealand dance and body building, including Da Katipa, Val Deakin and Quentin Smith.

Waitara and the north deserve better representation. Our area

has stagnated with District Council reps who seem to spend their

time bickering and sniping and Community Boards that only

represents a narrow sector of our community.

This is about our local efforts in Waitara after the challenge to the Waitara Community Board member Christine Armstrong-Smith selling synthetic drugs at her business in the CBD of Waitara town. We asked thru the Community Board for her and her business partner to stop selling the drugs. The local Councillors and board members did not think it was their role to get involved.

“Three women in Waitara say a lack of action by community leaders has prompted them to start providing free breakfast and afternoon tea to young people themselves”

Well, well, well 40 years later the work still raises issues of who we are ….

“The clear message I’m getting today is that we need to be even tighter than we have been on that.”