Ramp Festival returns with jam-packed day of kōrero and connection

Celebrating 25 years of creativity through kōrero, workshops, events and exhibitions, Wintec | Te Pukenga Ramp Festival returns from 8 - 10 August 2023.

A jam-packed day of kōrero will take place on Tuesday, 8 August featuring speakers from Australasia with the day-long series of speakers and events designed to encourage the audience to attend the whole day, with a hāngī lunch included.

The event is a unique platform to connect students with a range of creative practitioners and this year’s festival boasts an impressive lineup of speakers including Melbourne based designer Stuart Geddes, artist Shane Cotton, writer Anthony Bryt and designers ĀKAU. 

Wintec | Te Pūkenga Media Arts Events Director Megan Lyon says working with ĀKAU to arrange the programme has been inspiring. “Their passion comes through when they speak about their practice, the way they aim to empower whānau and tamariki through creativity and design is contagious.” Their kōrero will expand on how they connect whakapapa of people, place and cultural narrative to materialisation, changing the landscape around them and educating through a Māori lens – Tino Rangatiratanga, says Lyon. 

Anthony Bryt is the 2023 Kaipukahu Writer-In-Residence at the University of Waikato, where he is currently working on a novel and a monograph on artist Shane Cotton. “Anthony has spoken previously and as he is here in Kirikiriroa for the residency, and a former Wintec School of Media Arts tutor, a conversation between the artist and writer makes perfect sense,” says Lyon. At this year’s Ramp Festival, they will be speaking in depth on this collaboration and much more. 

Rounding out the afternoon (Catherine Griffiths (Designers Speak (Up)) and Bruce Connew (Vapour Momenta Books) will launch the pukapuka (book) Present Tense: Wāhine Toi Aotearoa — a paper record., a documentation of the eponymous 2019 poster project and exhibition hīkoi. 

To end the night, Solastalgia Exhibition Opening at Ramp Gallery, featuring artists, Rodrigo Hill, Karen Barbour, Declan Patrick, Xavier Meade and Alberto Alvarez-Jimenez. This exhibition is the result of a collaboration between researchers in Te Kura Toi School of Arts and Te Piringa Faculty of Law at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, with the support of community collaborators.  

Register to attend 8 August via the ticket link. Free entry and open to Wintec kaimahi, ākonga, alumni and our wider arts community.

See the full line up of events at our website at ramp.ac.nz.

Register to attend on Eventbrite.