Always taking care of safety, for these walks HOOPLA produce bespoke ‘high-vis’ bags for walkers to wear, each of which contains a map and Field Book documenting local history, with space to make drawings and take notes. We pre-accessorise the route, adding rope hand rails to support steep access up in-formal tracks to hidden places, and along the way we place ‘venue appropriate’ snacks. HOOPLA Guided Walks are often associated with festivals and larger events, a little piece of place based advocacy disguised as art or entertainment!
Field Book, 2018
Developed for the 2018 Whau Arts Festival, HOOPLA hosted Field Book, a guided walk heralding stage two of Te Whau Pathway. Following the Whau River from Rizal Reserve to the festival base at Riversdale Park, we collaborated with artist Lea Schlatter to make fold up paper landscapes and had Filipino treats by the surprising plaque commemorating Dr. Jose Rizal, a hero of Filipino independence and a meeting place for Filipino Aucklanders. Under the Ash Street bridge we found a one-man band performing in this great acoustic space, and at Te Wiata street we listened to song by Inia Te Wiata, the great opera singer after which this small cul-de-sac is named.
Avondale Loop Walk, 12 October, 2018
Developed for the Auckland Heritage Festival, HOOPLA hosted an Avondale Loop Walk, a guided walk that circumnavigated the Avondale Racecourse. Co-hosted by the Avondale Jockey Club, we explored their labyrinthine grandstands and function rooms, and delved into their rich archives. We took afternoon tea in the Marshall’s Room before braving stormy weather to traverse the looping course through the surrounding suburb and the future Te Whau Pathway connection.
Kia ora Avondale Walk, 11 May, 2019
For the Auckland Urban Walking Festival HOOPLA asked, as Auckland’s old town centers, strung along arterial routes such as Great North Road, undergo intesification, what must be held onto to stop the displacement that can occur when a neighbourhood changes? Avondale has important places for people of many different cultural backgrounds. Often these places are small and may be invisible to those who do not use them. Meandering through tattoo studios, back alleys, music shops, vacant sites and churches we explored some of these spaces and we noticed the everyday activities that are important to the richness of a neighborhood. Thank you to Janet Charman for the use of her poem ‘my Avondale’ in this walk.
