chris berthelsen likes to explore environments for creative activity, resident-led modification of the everyday environment, and alternative education(s). He often runs multi-layered public projects throughout New Zealand and Japan which experiment with public/private space, Making Friends, working in public, trust and hope, and making-do with resources at hand.
A core theme is the pleasure and possibility of “doing stuff with stuff”, as shown in his recent publication Distributed Resource Centre (designed by Xin Cheng, published by Mairangi Arts Centre) (download).
He is a co-founder of Activities and Research in Environments for Creativity Trust (Tāmaki Makaurau) and Tanushimaru Institute for Art Research (Fukuoka, Japan), and was Deputy-Chairperson, of the Mairangi Arts Centre Trust (Tāmaki Makaurau) (2017-2021).
Watch a short interview with chris about Making Friends with Junk (produced as part of the Auckland Arts Festival 2021) here.
The performance for PAWA is part of the Negative Emissions and Waste Studies (NEWS) Programme and a collaboration with Adam Ben-Dror. The NEWS Programme is a free self-learning environment that is run on streets, parks, private homes, community centres, high-end department stores, and anywhere else. It is a core activity of the registered charity Activities and Research in Environments for Creativity and was co-founded by Adam Ben-Dror and chris berthelsen.
The programme uses only things that have been thrown away or can be found for free in the general environment. We then play and experiment with them to make fun, pleasurable and (sometimes) useful objects, services, activities, etc., in multiple domains including but not limited to electronics, sewing, ceramics, sound and music, micromobility, gaming, landscaping, food and drink, poetry, and love. We also store and distribute materials to people and groups engaged in creative activities and research in the cities we operate in.
Examples include:
It may sound a little incomprehensible, but it is fun and valuable!
