ART CULTURE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 16, 26 August 1946, Page 5

ART CULTURE

PROVINCIAL TOUR PLANNED WHAKATANE INCLUDED Unable in the past to take part in the cultural activities of the larger centres because of the smallness of their populations, towns and small populated areas in the Auckland Province are shortly to be given the -opportunity to see and hear drama, music, art and ballet which formerly has been confined only to the main centres. This is to be brought about through the newly-formed Community Art Service, under the auspices of the Ad,ult Education Centre, Symonds Street.

Arrangements have already been ■completed to send on tour of the province attractions which have already won popularity and praise for the high standard of their work in Auckland. Foremost among these is Lili Kraus, the world-famous pianist, who has expressed her desire to play to as many New Zealanders -as possible, particularly in the small •country districts which rarely, if •ever, receive a visit from concert -artists.

Indicative of the co-operative -spirit in which the scheme has been •conceived is the arrangement made by Madame Kraus with the organisers of the service. This is of a nature which will make it possible for even very, small audiences in isolated towns to hear her.

The service has arranged also with Misses Beryl Nettleton and Bettina Edwards for a ballet company to tour the province. The programme selected will include Proikofieff’s “Peter and the Wolf,” which recently was very well received when presented in the Auckland Town Hall, and the fame of which has already spread to southern centres.

A small dramatic unit is being prepared by Mr George Byrt to tour the province presenting a programme of one-act plays, excerpts from larger plays, or three-act plays. Material, will be selected with regard to the size of cast and the flexibility of scenery and settings. The Goodwin Marionette Theatre, whose first public performance in Auckland last month proved so delightful, is also taking part in the scheme, and many country areas will be given the opportunity to see its work.

From time to time art exhibitions will also be sent on circuit, paintings being selected from the work of New Zealand artists. At first these will be conducted by the Auckland Society of Arts, but later it is intended to set up a panel of experts to select material for. circulation.

Discussing the scheme recently, two of the organisers, Mr Owen Jensen and Mr J. F. McDougall, emphasised that the service is a community one. The Adult Education Centre will make all arrangements and provide the artists, but the individual country centres must ask for them. An extension of this will be the provision, if requested, of musical and dramatic artists to assist with local productions in small centres.

The service is being organised on lines similar to C.E.M.A.—the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts—which did such fine work in England during the war. “There is a similar organisation in Australia, although both in the Commonwealth and in England assistance has been forthcoming from public and private grants. Here in Auckland no such grant has yet been made, but, nevertheless, by getting guarantees to cover expenses from the townships involved, it has been possible to place the venture on a financial footing sufficiently secure to enable it to be launched.

Organisers from the service have recently toured the province, and everywhere an enthusiastic demand has been encountered. Little townships which have been starved of cultural activities for so long have taken avidly to the proposal, offering to make up and deficit, while in one town one man produced his cheque book and offered immediately to make a substantial contribution in advance in order to launch the service.

The first group is to begin its tour in September, although it has not yet been decided which one will be selected to start the.series. Madame Kraus will follow later in the year, and others will begin the circuit at regular intervals. First towns to benefit will be Tauranga, Te Puke, Whakatane, Opotiki, Taurmarunui, Te Awamutu, Katikati,

Hamilton, Cambridge and Tirau. It is hoped to complete arrangements next week to send the service north to Whangarei, Dargaville, Kaikohe and Kerikeri. In each town local arrangements are in the hands of a community committee. The committees are formed as far as possible of representatives of all interested organisations in the district.