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New Wellington art school offers world-first Bachelor of Creativity

A state-of-the-art creative campus is set to open in Wellington, offering a world-first Bachelor of Creativity, arming students with the skills they need for the jobs of the future.

Te Auaha, a joint venture between Wellington regional tertiary institutions Whitireia and WelTec, is housed in a new innovative six-storey campus in the centre of Wellington’s iconic Cuba Street that can accommodate up to 1,000 students studying a creative cross-disciplinary syllabus.

The new creativity campus will officially open on Monday, 26 February offering a snapshot of what Te Auaha has on offer with performances from creative disciplines including dance, circus, makeup artistry, and music.

A highlight of the opening evening will be a street performance by Te Auaha students and a professional dancer of The Art of Colour, a dance work originally choreographed for the World of Wearable Art by Te Auaha Ambassador Malia Johnston. Performers will wear the original WOW costumes.

Te Auaha Director Victoria Spackman says the school will produce a new generation of entrepreneurs, job creators and skilled workers for New Zealand’s creative industries including film, broadcasting, gaming, publishing and the performing arts.

“It’s estimated that New Zealand’s creative industries employ over 40,000 people and contribute around $3.8 billion to our GDP. Te Auaha is here to produce the next generation of creatives to grow that industry - but we’re also preparing young people to have an impact on our wider economy.  

“The core skills we are teaching, such as creative problem solving, innovation, critical thinking, commercial and cultural awareness, and collaboration will be in high demand in all areas of the economy as we progress through this century. We’ve designed a facility to equip graduates with the skills to face challenges in jobs that even haven’t been invented yet,” she says.

The new campus has been designed to encourage creative interaction and cross fertilisation between disciplines, to help develop a generation of more collaborative creative professionals. The creative disciplines on offer include digital media, music, performing arts (dance, circus, acting), toi poutama (weaving and carving), film production, visual arts, jewellery making, make-up, hairdressing, journalism, publishing, and writing.

Students are encouraged to take electives outside their core disciplines and required to complete a final year collaboration between any combinations of the disciplines on offer.

Te Auaha’s new campus is a series of interwoven creative spaces including dance studios and performance spaces, digital recording studios, two in-house radio stations, an art gallery, film and photography studios, large and small theatres, a cinema, a beauty spa, kilns, jewellery workshops, a 3D printing area, screen printing, stone carving and various art studios.

Greg Campbell, Chair of the Combined Whitireia and WelTec Councils, says “This is the spirit of Wellington in one location: creativity, colour, talent. You will feel part of it whether you’re a student or a visitor or simply a citizen of Wellington.”

Enrolments are still open with limited places available in some programmes, more information can be found at www.teauaha.com.

New Wellington art school offers world-first Bachelor of Creativity

 
 
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