Two locals make WOW finals

By Frank Neill

Johnsonville design partners

Marie Wright and Zach McDonald-Wright are finalists in the 2023 World of Wearable Art Competition (WOW).

They are among the 120 designers from 22 countries who have been named as finalists in the 33rd WOW show.

Marie and Zach work with Wairarapa designer Taralee Freeman and the trio has two designs that have reached the final of the WOW competition.

When asked her reaction to making the WOW finals, Marie told the “Independent Herald” that it was “relief – just 100% utter pure relief”.

That, she said was because of the many hours that have been involved in the project.

“It’s incredibly tough juggling day jobs and life commitments with the many hours required to create a WoW garment, so to be part of a team where we all have equal passion and vision is very rewarding.

“And then to be selected, makes it even better,” Marie says.

Marie, Zach and Taralee entered last year’s WOW competition and their entry, called Gloriana, was runner-up in the Elizabethan section.

This year’s event is set to be one of the biggest, boldest, and brightest yet, the organisers say.

More than $185,000 of awards and prizes are up for grabs in 2023, across three recurring sections, Aotearoa, Avant-garde and Open, and three additional sections, Mars and Beyond, Gold, and the iconic Bizarre Bra.

Just what category Marie and Zach will be competing in and their designs cannot be revealed until the show opens on 20 September.

“Once again we find ourselves in awe at the level of creative ingenuity, craftmanship and pure inventiveness that designers bring to the WOW Competition,” says WOW Head of Competition Sarah Nathan.

“In the 2023 WOW show audiences will see a mind-bending array of materials ranging from potato bags, shoe rubber, bees wax, latex and bamboo, to drone waste, Barbie dolls, children’s sweets, keyboards and synthetic hair!

“This year’s finalists also provide moments of reflection and conversation as they present back to us some of the most pressing global issues of our time.

“Fast fashion waste, mental health, women’s empowerment, climate change and online bullying are all conveyed through the most extraordinary creations of wearable art,” Sarah says.

The finalists will go through two further stages of judging, in which they are assessed on stage, before the winners are announced at the 2023 WOW Show Awards Night on Friday 22 September at TSB Arena.

The 2023 judging panel comprises WOW Founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff; Aotearoa

New Zealand sculptor and Arts Foundation Laureate Brett Graham (Ng ti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui); partner, designer and Director of WORLD Benny Castles; and Workshop

Emerging Designer Award Judge – co-founder, CEO and Creative Director of Workshop, Sir Richard Taylor.

Head Judge Dame Suzie Moncrieff says, “It has been both an honour and a privilege to view the incredible works of wearable art presented over judging weekend.

“I was most impressed by the high standard and originality of each entry.”

The 2022 WOW Show was the most-attended to date, with an audience of nearly 64,000 people from across the country and the world.

The event generated a gross economic benefit to the Te oko O Te Ika A Maui / Wellington region of over $30 million.

This year’s season is set to be another unmissable event, Sarah says.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the coming-together of finalist designers’ genius and the fantastical vision of the WOW creative team is going to provide the most spectacular WOW yet.

“I have been warning all my friends – be prepared to have your mind blown, and if you haven’t got your tickets yet, run.”

WOW 2023 takes up residence in the TSB Arena from 20 September to 8 October.

Tickets are now on sale now at www.worldofwearableart.com.

Heritage Week

Businesses, groups or individuals who are considering becoming an event host for Wellington Heritage Week can now do so. Applications can be made until 10pm on Monday 31 July, and can be submitted through the Wellington Heritage Week website, https://wellingtonheritageweek. co.nz/.

The week will run from 23 October to 5 November. More information about the week is at https://wellingtonheritageweek. co.nz/about/.

Table tennis

Four table tennis sessions are held every week at the Newlands Community Centre. The morning sessions are on Mondays and Wednesdays and there is one afternoon session and one evening session on Fridays.

The sessions are open to everyone, regardless of skill level and cost $2 each. For more details contact the community centre, phone 477 3724 or email newlandscc@wcc.govt.nz

Oral history presentations

Two local historians – Ann Packer and Lynette Shum – will make presentations at the Onslow Historical Society’s oral history talk on 30 July. The event will be held at KATE, 86 Khandallah Road, from 2pm to 4pm and will include afternoon tea.

Ann is an oral historian, freelance writer and editor, Montana Book award author and is probably best known for her children’s book reviews in the “NZ Listener”. Most recently she interviewed the Onslow Historical Society President Judy Siers with the intention of filing an oral history of the society.

Lynette is the Oral History Advisor at the Alexander Turnbull Library where the Oral History and Sound Collection is held. Up to 15,000 recordings have been filed since the 1960s.

Both Lynette and Ann are committee members of the National Oral History Association of New Zealand.

Founded in 1986 it provides opportunities for communities, professionals and academic oral historians to meet and work collaboratively.

People attending the event are asked to RSVP to siersjudy@gmail.com.