AMPED in the Park

AMPED is an annual, multidisciplinary creative showcase featuring work from students at The University of Auckland’s National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries (NICAI). This year we mounted this exciting event at Auckland's Myers Park, where we created a series of interactive installations and performances for Auckland's Fan Trail, the walking route from the waterfront to Eden Park stadium.

On Eden Park match days Myers Park came alive to delight and entertain a total of 76,000 locals and visitors – amongst them the Mayor of Auckland Len Brown, Virgin Airlines CEO Richard Branson and Vice Chancellor of The University of Auckland Stuart McCutcheon.

AMPED in the Park featured in the New Zealand Herald (who rated it 9/10 for RWC events); Asia Down Under (TVNZ); TVNZ News; Radio New Zealand Business News; Urbis Online; and several government and social media websites.

Visit the Auckland Rugby World Cup website for more info on the Fan Trail »

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Jack-in-a-Box

Architecture, Dance, Music and Fine Arts students worked as multi-disciplinary teams on unique installations and sensory experiences built around the concept of a "Jack-in-a-Box". As well as having the opportunity to showcase their creativity to an international audience, the project was an integral part of their degree studies, so they will be marked on their work.

There were seven installations located at sites throughout Myers Park. View the videos below for a taste of these beautiful, thought-provoking and often surprising installations.

We gratefully acknowledge our major supporters:
ROSC Rodney Scaffolding
Shrinkmaster

Many thanks also to our other supporters:
GIB
Hooked on Power
Iplex Pipelines
Black & White Storage
Water in a Box

Site 1 - Recasting

Collecting sound and light from Myers Park and the wider environment, Music and Architecture students project their visions of the City of Sails onto an icon of changeable Auckland weather – the humble umbrella.

Each time the Fan Trail is active the students will create different spatial umbrella installations, recasting sound and light as they explore diverse aspects of Auckland.

This installation and event was supported by:

Check out the Recasting student blog for progress on the project

Site 2 - Diversion
Dance and Architecture students divert your attention to where the Waihorotiu Stream - also known as the Queen Street River, or more colloquially the Ligar Canal - once flowed through the Myers Park.

Dancers will be interacting with different architectural installations: skeletal creature-like forms, abstracted trees, flowing ribbons, distorted terrain and origami-inspired interpretations of the watercourse following the path of the original stream.

This installation and event was supported by:
Modus Lighting | Philips

Check out the Diversion student blog for progress on the project

Site 3 – Reactive
Childlike play, fun and exploration are encouraged as Architecture students engage the senses of touch, smell, sight and sound with their creations.

Exploring organic forms reminiscent of magical creatures in their architectural installation, the students were inspired by ideas of people at play, having fun in Myers Park.

This installation and event was supported by:
Allout Customs | Cavalier Bremworth | Dayle ITM
Hirepool | Watson Home Bakery | The Production Co

Check out the Reactive student blog for progress on the project

Site 4 – Back to_[black]
Dance and Architecture students collaborate to explore physical reactions to positive and negative spaces, inspired by the role of black in New Zealand’s identity and its dominance in our visual arts, psyche and expression.

The architectural installation leans, as if about to collapse, creating a sense of unease. Dancers move in and around large black sculptures, activating voids and left-over spaces.

This installation and event was supported by:
Dricon | IBS - Independent Building Supplies | Repco (Grey Lynn Branch)
South Pacific Timber | PSP Limited | Guthrie Bowron (Balmoral Branch)

Check out the Back to_ [black] student blog for progress on the project

Site 5 – Eruption
Auckland’s volcanic heritage finds expression in Myers Park as Architecture students create a strange otherworld, populated with eruptions and unusual sights.

Across the different Fan Trail nights the students will conjure up alternative environments of light and colour, playing with plumes of smoke and erupting canopies of leaves.

This installation and event was supported by:
Burgess & Treep Architects, Auckland | Marley | Queen City Law

Check out the Nooodles blog for progress on the project

Site 6 – Displacement
Inspired by Myers Park’s history as a colonial shanty town, Elam students combine what little is remembered from the past with the contemporary. Abstracted dwellings of geometric forms, clustering and lacing through the grassy hills, suggest community and a collective culture.

The living sculpture explores the displacement of those who once lived on this site as well as travellers who’ve come from near and far to attend the Rugby World Cup 2011 games.

This installation and event was supported by:
Astrolabe

Check out the Displacement student blog for progress on the project

Site 7 – Perpetual Museum
Perpetual: Never ending or changing.
Museum: A building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited.

Inspired by the Waihorotiu Stream that originated in Myers Park in the 1900s, Architecture and Music students evoke watery experiences using sound, wind installations and optical effects.

Climbing the Myers Park steps, ambient sounds change from creating the illusion of being underwater to rising above the river surface, while large arches capture light and wind, casting water patterns across the grassy slope.

This installation and event was supported by:
Specialised Lighting Concepts | York Precision Plastics | D.M. Standen Ltd
Matson Construction | McIntosh Timber Laminates | Tsubasa Kawamoto, Composer

Check out the Perpetual Museum student blog for progress on the project

Engaging with the unexpected: the Reactive folly encourages play and exploration.

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