Following last year’s successful first outing, METONYMY returns – and this year it has a stunning new home.  Metonymy is a collaboration project between artists from different disciplines. 

Working on the idea that people often spark creatively when they are exposed to new ideas and methods of working, Metonymy pairs two artists – say, a visual artist and a writer – and challenges them to create new work together in a six-week period. 
 
The resulting work is viewed by a panel of established practitioners, and the best are selected for exhibition at the Aotea Gallery, The EDGE’s professional-level gallery on the fourth floor of the Aotea Centre.  Performance-based work will also be ‘displayed’ at an event to be held in the Aotea Centre.  Both events will take place in May, as fringe events for the Auckland Writer’s and Reader’s Festival.
 
But the exhibition and performance event is just the icing on the cake, say Metonymy’s organisers, Christian Jensen, Hannah-May Thompson and Renee Liang.  “Our main aim is to bring two artists together who may not otherwise meet,” says Thompson, “and for them to make exciting new work together.”  In doing so, Thompson says, different creative communities will come together to start sharing skills and ideas. As well as the ‘blind dating’ match of two artists, there are ‘meet and greet’ sessions where anyone can turn up, have a drink and share creative ideas.  There will also be various fundraising events including silent auctions, poetry slams and band gigs – much needed as Metonymy is free to join and runs entirely on goodwill and donations of time, materials and money.
 
When asked where all this can lead, Liang is keen to point out the success of last year’s event which was based at Cross St Studios.  Over 70 artists and writers took part, resulting in some 33 finished art works, four books and tens of performance pieces.  Subsequently some pairs have continued to collaborate, including performance poet Miriam Barr and animation artist Kate Barton, who have produced further pieces for a live poetry stage show by the Literatti, of which Barr is a member.  Liang and her creative partner Cat Auburn have collaborated on pieces for an art exhibition called Little Rain, currently on show at City Art Rooms as part of Auckland Festival 2009.  Many of the artists chosen for the exhibition last year sold work, including poet Doug Poole and artist Penny Howard whose work now hangs in the Waitakere City Civic building.
 
But at the end of the day, it’s the journey that counts.  “The only thing we ask is that people commit to 6 weeks of fun making work together,” says Jensen.  “We only have limited space in the exhibition, and the bar for that is set pretty high, but all completed work is included in our catalogue.  At the end of the day, taking part is the reward – at the very least you’ll have made work you wouldn’t otherwise have made.”
 
Applications to join METONYMY close on March 31st, and is open to artists of all genres, but only those based in Auckland. Organisers are willing to be lenient with late entries. For more information and to sign up for free, visit http://metonymy09.blogspot.com.