I spent a week in Queenstown, soaking up the creative culture and heritage the area has to offer. My client and I toured the region to gather feedback, both visually and verbally, from local communities on what they want to see more of from the arts sector. It was fun for me to be drawing about art and listening to other creatives over the six different sessions.

Below is one illustration from the series, this one from a 'culture' perspective, all about what storytelling and what folks want to see in Tāhuna, Queenstown.

Some of the best feedback comes from participants as I’m packing up after an event. One workshop I had a person come up to me, appreciating how I’d drawn a pair of lips kissing the air and a speech bubble saying “Make heritage sexy”. This was a direct quote from someone else in the event whom they’d had difficulty aligning with. They’d seen this person’s eyes light up when they saw they’d been quoted and it dawned on them… that person just wants to feel seen and heard, like they do. I watched their face soften, talking about it.

The beauty of my being an outsider is that I’m unaware of any politics or details that can sway views and therefore scribe without judgement.

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