WOW!
Yesterday I took a much needed getaway from the everyday writing round and the anniversary of the initial, 7.1 earthquake (yes, it was exactly 12 months yesterday since Christchurch’s ‘year of living dangerously’ began) and went to WOW—the World of Wearable Arts event in Wellington.
And let me tell you, this was a show, with a wonderful array of artistic creations across 7 categories—Children’s, Illumination & Illusion, Creative Excellence, Open, Man Unleashed, Avant Garde, and Kiwi Icons—choreographed together with dance and vocal performance. And many of the entries had a decidedly SFF feel–including a very “steampunk” Commended entrant in the Avant Garde category, titled ‘When Brunel Met Chanel.’
WOW has been going for over 20 years now, growing from a small event in Nelson to a major international one in Wellington, and it is the first time I’ve been. But allow me to say—-I was wowed: the World of Wearable Art is an amazing experience and definitely worth every cent of the ticket, imo.
No photos allowed, unfortunately, so I can’t convey the visual spectacle, but you can see all the category winners and commendeds on the WOW website, here.