Unexpected encounters with Auckland’s leading contemporary Asian artists

Blazing into its fourth year, Satellites returns with a series of explosive experiences showcasing the most exciting contemporary Asian artists in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Building on the success of their programme last year, where their giant claw machine received a Best Award and two of their works were re-commissioned for appearance at Te Papa, Satellites returns with Kollywood Extra, an immersive fake film shoot experience (inviting guests to take part in the next big Kollywood blockbuster), Nanam x The Cult Project, an intimate Filipino breakfast experience with three true stories told live at the heart of the event, Zoe & The K-Pop Kids, a children’s show for young K-Pop fans, and The Crystal Ball, a project that turns an empty building into a giant crystal ball, featuring visions of the future created by our city’s own children. As well as this, The Mood Machine, a machine that listens to the way you’re feeling and prescribes you with art and writing to match, returns as part of Auckland Arts Festival.

Director Rosabel Tan says, “Satellites is about championing the incredible Asian artists who make up this city. It’s about giving those artists both the permission and the support to turn the volume up on what feels possible. It’s about weaving our faces and voices into the fabric of our communities, and it’s about creating joyful encounters with art in public spaces.”

THE MOOD MACHINE

This mysterious machine will listen to the way you’re feeling and diagnose you with a piece of art and some writing to match.

Curated by Emma Ng and Hera Lindsay Bird, and featuring work by some of the most exciting young artists and writers in Aotearoa. Prepare to discover new worlds, gravity-bending perspectives, and fierce heartbeats that echo long after you’ve left.

The Mood Machine features work by Xun Cao, Vanessa Crofskey, Robbie Handcock, Ana Iti, Gregory Kan, Sharon Lam, Eamonn Marra, Elisabeth Pointon, Stacey Teague, Sam Thomas, Tayi Tibble, Serene Timoteo, Jade Townsend, Chris Tse and Faith Wilson.

Details:
5 – 24 March 2019 (during Q Theatre opening hours only)
Q Theatre, 305 Queen St, Auckland CBD

Free

KOLLYWOOD EXTRA

Sneak into a fake Kollywood film shoot and immerse yourself in an imaginary blockbuster-in-the-making: learn a dance move, watch a performance, or have your headshot taken and be discovered by one of our talent scouts.

Created by visionary director Ahi Karunaharan, and featuring culinary treats by Samrudh Akuthota and the sweeping, majestic artwork of Bepen Bhana, Kollywood Extra is an interactive homage to South Indian cinema. Part performance and part live art installation, we’re inviting you — the audience — to be an observer, an extra, or to step up and take the leading role.

Details:
Saturday 4 May 2019, 12pm – 6pm (Rain Date: Saturday 11 May 2019, 12pm – 6pm)
Sandringham Reserve, Sandringham Road, Sandringham

Free

NANAM X THE CULT PROJECT

The third instalment of our pop-up breakfast series invites you to sample a traditional Filipino breakfast, showcasing the culinary talents of Nanam’s Jess Granada and The Cult Project’s Carlo Buenaventura, with original artwork by illustrator Marc Conaco. Featuring sikwate, pan de siosa and kape at sinangag, the heart of this event is a suite of intimate stories told live by each artist, sharing the special relationship they have to the dishes being served.

Please note this breakfast is not vegetarian.

Details:
Saturday 25 May 2019, 9.30am – 11am
Nanam, 178 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna

$25 per person or come with a family member for $35

Tickets from satellites.co.nz

THE CRYSTAL BALL

Gaze into an imagined future with The Crystal Ball, a unique large-scale installation created by experiential artist Lakshman Anandanayagam and sonic and visual artist Suren Unka. Dreams of our future city are brought to vivid life, and for a brief moment you’ll see the world our young ones expect to inherit: their hopes, their concerns, and the lives they imagine themselves creating.

Details:
June
St George St, Papatoetoe

Free

ZOE & THE K-POP KIDS

In a little town in New Zealand, Zoe dreams in K-pop colours. She'd do anything to dance for a crew, so when the opportunity to audition for one arises, she leaps at the chance. But does she have what it takes

Zoe & The K-Pop Kids is an electric adventure about hard work and believing in your dreams, featuring contagious K-pop dance choreographed by international choreographer Rina Chae (AOA, Cosmic Girls, SF9 and Monsta X).

This captivating, interactive performance is suitable for children aged 4+.

Details:
Bruce Mason Theatre,  The Promenade, Takapuna
$10 – $15

Saturday 12 October 2019
11am – 12pm
1pm – 2pm
6pm – 7pm

Sunday 13 October 2019
11am – 12pm
1pm – 2pm
4pm – 5pm

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Focused on developing future arts managers and producers, the Satellites Internship Programme gives two emerging Asian practitioners the opportunity to develop core skills across producing and marketing at two arts organisations during 2019 – 2020.

Call for applications will be announced in July 2019.