WHITE NIGHT

6pm to Midnight, Saturday 16 March

Various locations across Auckland

BE SPELLBOUND BY AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL'S FREE ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA

Auckland Arts Festival's brilliant night of nights White Night is back again after a hugely successful inaugural event in 2011. On Saturday 16 March, over 60 of Auckland's galleries, museums and arts spaces will be open between 6pm and midnight.  Art projects and performances will spill into public spaces, with free buses scheduled to help people squeeze in as much activity as possible.

Galleries and arts spaces right across Auckland - from Devonport to Pakuranga, Western Springs to Mangere as well as the central city and arts-rich surrounding suburbs - will stay open long after the sun goes down. First-time gallery-goers and arts connoisseurs alike will have the opportunity to experience a rich variety of curated exhibitions and installations, live music, artist talks, new media and interactive works, and specially-programmed performances.

Auckland Arts Festival Artistic Director, Carla van Zon says, "White Night is a unique opportunity for people to experience art in a new light, and explore a city brought to life by art. It's a time when doors are opened, barriers are broken down, and art is available to everyone. Bring your friends and family and discover Auckland afresh, or take a solo journey through the city and its secrets."

FREE hop-on-hop-off buses will run throughout White Night, running on Central City, Eastern, Western and Southern routes. For details about these routes and their stop-off points, pick up a copy of the White Night brochure at any participating White Night venue, or visit http://www.aaf.co.nz/events/white-night.aspx.

For a full list of the events and activities taking place across Auckland and a breakdown of participating venues and activities by region and theme, please see the White Night brochure, out this week at all participating galleries and venues, and on www.aaf.co.nz

Of the 100+ individual exhibitions and events by more than 200 artists, some of Auckland Arts Festival 2013's White Night highlights include:

THE BEST OF ART IN THE DARK

The monumentally successful Art in the Dark lights up selected White Night venues with creative projects from some of New Zealand's most innovative artists, including Tiffany Singh's mesmerising wind chimes at the Auckland Museum.

1000 LOVERS

An extraordinary performance work choreographed by Carol Brown tracing Auckland's waterfront from the sea to the city with mythical men and women. Pick up headphones on the night or download the soundtrack in advance. Starts at Silo Park at 6.30pm and 8pm

POI SPECTACULAR

Acclaimed kapa haka groups from around Tāmaki Makaurau join forces in this hauntingly-lit mass poi performance, choreographed and directed by Kura Te Ua. Festival Garden, Aotea Square, 10.30pm (it follows the performance of Everything is Ka Pai).

PARLOUR COMPLAINTS CHOIR

This delightful choir, specially formed for White Night, have turned real complaints from the public into original and hilariously entertaining compositions. These will be performed in random pop-up performances across Auckland and on the free White Night buses with a final performance in the Festival Garden, Aotea Square, 11.45pm.

THE COLOUR OF OUR COMMUNITY

Add the finishing touches to the largest mural in the South Pacific, wrapped around the Ponsonby's Vinegar Lane development, until recently an abandoned development site. Crummer Road, Ponsonby, 6-8pm.

FINGER KNITTING IN CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY

Learn the creative potential of finger knitting in a workshop with Auckland jeweller Sinead Jury. Two sessions will be held between 6-8.30pm and 9-11pm at Masterworks Gallery.

TURRET TOURS

Take a tour of the usually out-of-bounds Pah Homestead at regular intervals between 7.30 and 11.30pm.

PARNELL goes all out with street-based interactive arts projects from emerging and established artists spread throughout the village and its courtyards.

KINGDOM - NZTRIO

The innovative NZTrio perform the original composition by David Downes - Kingdom - an animated film with live music and black humour. Auckland Art Gallery - Toi o Tāmaki, 8 and 9pm

Elam at the Central City Library: THAT'S FUNNY

Anti-loitering tactics, a mini-golf course, live sound acts and digital haikus overrun the Library when Elam School of Fine Arts students take the creative reins. Central City Library - Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, 6pm-midnight

GLOW IN THE DARK UNDERWATER WORLD

Illuminated seaside family activities including storytelling, photography and night-time sailings. Voyager Maritime Museum, 4.30pm to midnight

MOANA/CULTURE CLASH/THE LIVE ROOM AND PRAYAS THEATRE INDIAN BAND

Pacific dance, African beats, hip-hop and circus - TAPAC arrives on White Night with a night of music, dance and theatre for the whole family - bring your picnic rug and some dancing feet!

TAPAC, Western Springs, 6pm-midnight

POT LUCK in Devonport and the EXPERIMENTAL BAKERY in Remuera

Two neighbourhoods new to White Night strike a culinary pose blending art and food in unexpected ways.

EVENT DETAILS

ABOUT THE AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL

The Auckland Arts Festival is Auckland's premier festival of New Zealand and international arts. The globally-recognised event celebrates people and culture, and showcases the unrivalled location and landscape, cultural diversity and vibrant energy of New Zealand's largest city.

Since the inaugural event in 2003, the Auckland Arts Festival has welcomed over a million attendees. For 19 magical days in March, Auckland Arts Festival 2013 will bring the Auckland region to life once again with creations from some of the country's most innovative artists and performers alongside a sensational assemblage of internationals.

With over 60 individual events that have been carefully selected or specially created, comprising performances, exhibitions, installations, seminars, workshops and family activities, the Auckland Arts Festival 2013 programme offers anyone keen to ignite their creative spirit a unique chance to experience the arts in unexpected ways.

Auckland Arts Festival is governed by the Auckland Festival Trust and the Board chaired by Victoria Carter. Trustees are Rick Carlyon, Roger MacDonnell, Toni Millar, Jim Moser, John Judge, Heather Shotter and Fred Ward.

The Trust receives core funding from Auckland Council through the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act, and from Creative New Zealand through the Toi Tōtara Haemata programme.

The Festival's executive team is Artistic Director Carla van Zon and Chief Executive David Inns.

Significant support for the Auckland Arts Festival 2013 is received from the ASB Community Trust, NZ Major Events, The Lion Foundation and Pub Charity; Gold Sponsors Westpac and Colenso BBDO; Silver Sponsors Auckland Airport and Classic Hits; and other sponsors, patrons and donors.