The Awhi Incubator Project

From May 23 to May 24 the Awhi Incubator Project provided free coaching, mentoring and training for selected cross-disciplinary practitioners and creative technologists who live in Northland, NZ. The aim has been to raise the profile of the innovative local arts scene and connect to national and international networks.

Dr Maggie Buxton says, “The goal is to support local practitioners and our cross-disciplinary field to become more sustainable in their practices and to raise their visibility nationally and worldwide. We do that through international creative innovation labs, publications and symposiums, and supporting individual artists to elevate their practice.“

Activities

Over core 20 participants (organisational and individual) had in-house and external coaching and mentorship as well as a series of experiences designed to upskill them and build capacity. This included workshops on funding, copyright, digital presence and marketing, as well as more technical topics like AI, Arduino, e-textiles, MIDI, animation, NFTs and projection mapping. In addition, a twice weekly open studio is available for drop in coaching with themed sessions, as well as a monthly online meetup for those who live more remotely.

In addition we have completed a number of public workshops and bespoke workshops to provide coaching and training for several hundred more practitioners in the wider community including topics like Arduino and AI.

In total, we reached thousands of audience members – including international audiences via our online book and symposium and large public events.

To achieve the aim of raising the profile of practice several large scale experiences that interface with the public have taken place: BIOS an international creative innovation lab (May/June 23) and a projection mapping live lab at Whangarei Night Lights (July 23). The BIOS lab supported over 50 – 70 additional creatives with one to one advice and skills training through our Future Fibres mini symposium and 3D scanning workshop.

A international book and symposium was launched in October 23 featuring symposium participants alongside AwhiWorld partners from around New Zealand and the globe.

A second regional lab Alternative Reality Gardening completed the Incubator in May 2024.

We will now be focussing on bespoke one to one and workshop based training. Contact us if you are interested.

Incubator Background

The Awhi Incubator Story

AwhiWorld have worked hard over the last five years to support Te Tai Tokerau's creative technology and cross-disciplinary arts scene. Both Dr Maggie Buxton and Kim Newall have dedicated a considerable amount…

High Calibre Creative Technology Coaching

High-calibre coaching and mentoring staff are joining the Awhi Incubator to provide advice on running the project, delivering workshops and work one-to-one with participants. Working alongside core incubator staff Dr Maggie Buxton…

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Creative Innovation Clinics

Creative Innovation Clinics About the Pop-Up Clinics AwhiWorld partnered with Creative Northland to deliver creative innovation clinics in Whangarei, Rawene, and Dargaville in March/April 2024. These dynamic events ignited the imagination and empowered creatives to explore the endless possibilities of innovation. Those who attended discovered the latest in 3D scanning, printing and…

Alternative Reality Gardening 23

Alternative Reality Gardening You may not realise it, but you are inside a portal to an alternative reality. A place where scientists, technologists, theorists, poets, crafters, dancers, artists and engineers all garden - in quite different ways. About This is a large-scale creative theme within the Awhi Incubator Project. It includes the following…

Whangarei Night Lights Festival Mini VJ|PM Lab

Whangarei Night Lights Festival Mini VJ|PM Lab This year AwhiWorld used Whangarei Night Lights Festival as a live base for training Awhi Incubator Participants in VJ-ing and Projection Mapping. Fresh from a day-long seminar within BIOS, participants had two weeks to prepare content, with support and coaching from Kim Newall. They then performed their images…

Future Fibres Seminars & Workshops

Future Fibres Seminars and Workshops at BIOS Future fibres will be at the centre of research in AwhiWorld's upcoming BIOS lab in May/June this year. We are excited to partner with Professor Frances Joseph of Intra-Action Initiatives & AUT University's Huri Te Ao/The School of Future Environments to deliver a series of FREE Future Fibres…

BIOS Creative Innovation Lab

BIOS - Creative Innovation Lab May/June 2023 AwhiWorld took over the Mair Gallery at Whangarei Art Museum and turned it into a leading-edge creative innovation lab from May 27th to June 18th. The gallery transformed into a large-scale immersive, interactive installation with multiple content zones, including: science-art-tech installations, including international collaborations a future fibre zone…

Creative Tech Training for Creatives

Artists who need a little help to move into a digital or interactive space can now get the support they need via AwhiWorld’s new creative technology training course – Creative Tech for Creatives. It’s an introduction to creative technologies like: The workshop forms a public offering from AwhiWorld to spread the word about the Awhi…

Future Fibres – E-Textile Workshop Rawene

AwhiWorld’s latest event involved playing with light, responsive inks and light-activated threads in an e-textile discovery workshop in Rawene. The workshop was a community partner Awhi Incubator project funded by Ministry of Culture and Heritage. We explored thermo, hydro and photochromic pigments and threads, Arduino sensors, fibre optics and other future fibres in our workshop…

A SPECIAL THANKS

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage for their support in helping us bring our vision to life.

Our partnered organisations have been invaluable assets to our team, and we are incredibly grateful for their commitment to our mission. We could not have accomplished what we have without their help and support, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration for many years to come.

We also want to extend a special thank you to our wider Northland community. Your support, enthusiasm, and willingness have been a source of inspiration for us.