George Parker: Through An Artistic Lens

Dr George Parker is a long-time member of Free Theatre Christchurch and the Manager of Te Puna Toi (Performance Research Project) at the University of Canterbury’s Theatre and Film Studies Department. Following the February 2011 earthquake, the Arts Centre was closed indefinitely. He explores how intense environments can be processed through performance.

ABOUT TEDx

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, ‘ideas worth spreading’. The programme is designed to give communities, organisations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

ABOUT George Parker

“Dr Parker believes Christchurch should be ‘transition city’. “Already in Christchurch we have seen the emergence of surprising transitional projects such as Re:Start, the temporary AMI Stadium, EPIC, Gap Filler, Smash Palace and ArtBox.

FESTA (Festival of Transitional Architecture) will allow the community to engage with these projects via tours hosted by the creators.

The creators will discuss their experiences, the highs and lows of responding creatively to the new challenges of Christchurch post-earthquakes, the lessons learnt and the opportunities discovered. FESTA aims to promote Christchurch’s unique opportunity to be a global epicentre for creative urban renewal through experimental architecture, art and performance.

The aim is to build on the creative ethos of collaboration that has emerged post-earthquakes between architects, artists, business, developers and the wider community.”

The VIDEO