Creative ID: 765
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths)
I have been a highly accomplished international photojournalist in Germany for nearly 30 years before immigrating to New Zealand in 2004. I covered the 2011 Rugby World Cup here in New Zealand for a French agency before opening my own photo art gallery in 2013 in Christchurch. In 2012 I photographed 43 New Zealand writers as a preview for dpa/pa (Picture Alliance, the international part of the German Press Agency), these '43 NZ Authors' were amongst about 60 writers who represented New Zealand at the Frankfurt Book Fair that year when New Zealand was the guest of honour in Frankfurt. In 2013 I created the exhibition '43 NZ Authors' for my own gallery where we had our inaugural show and then I continued touring this exhibition for almost five years throughout New Zealand to 25 public libraries.
I am highly creative and a team player as well as an experienced leader. Today I work as a yoga and meditation teacher and my vision is to bring creative photography in combination with yoga and meditation to the 'next' generation by utilising our phones for creating meaningful portrait photography and making it an alternative to the prevalent type of selfies. Yoga and meditation will help to create new meaningful connections with an opportunity to develop a new awareness of oneself and others.
My track record of experience and success - or the track record of experience and success of the creative or artist that I will partner with
a. Peer/Expert recognition from a recognised critic: "Neither of us is wildly keen on being photographed but she had the right spirit and that magic touch. She made us feel at ease.... she encompassed us with love and vision and made music with her camera. As soon as I set foot in her gallery I realised that she had also created symphonies with all the 43 authors she photographed. I know most of them well and I could not believe how she managed to get in behind their eyes, into their hearts and souls."
b. Degree: University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, Germany - Bachelor of Science: Communication Design, Critical Success: Co-Founder and CEO of a sports photography company that got sold to Getty Images in 2004 after nearly 26 years of operation.
c. If a public library can be counted as a kura: 25 exhibitions at public libraries all over New Zealand between 2014 and 2019.
d. Practical experience: I have been supporting family and friends with bringing up their kids since I don't have kids myself.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes
a. I have produced a calendar of fun sessions involving the kids of my friends. This pretty much shows in a nutshell what my vision for involvement in a school project is: having fun while trying new roles, new faces, new identities and how that feels to try it out. Taking pictures of one another and of oneself while learning new skills about 'meaningful' photography in regards to a theme, expression, arrangements and setups, also including technical aspects of the use of light, perspective, movement and more.
b. I have trained young photographers in our agency in Germany, done workshops and courses in photography here in New Zealand for individual photographers and clubs, contributed as a judge for competitions of the Christchurch Photographic Society and done public talks there as well as for the Nature Photography Society of New Zealand and a couple of local photography clubs. Since 2016 I have been working as a yoga teacher, and since 2021 also as a meditation teacher and run workshops, courses and regular classes as well as a Sunday meditation group. Please check my website (link available on request).
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice
My vision is about helping to create meaningful experiences that include knowing not just what you have done but WHY you have done something. Photography in combination with yoga and meditation is an excellent medium to do just that while having fun exploring the world around you as well as the world within yourself.
Using our phones for photography is a simple and fantastic tool for becoming creative in many ways, and first and foremost in a more conscious way. Also introducing the art of portrait photography can be extremely valuable for learning more about life, one another, and oneself including self-portraits (as opposed to selfies), and maybe even combining this with a bit of yoga and meditation to better understand ourselves before going into the creative process of taking pictures. It has been a dream for a long time for me to be able to bring my experience into the schools and pass on knowledge and inspiration to kids of any age; really, the younger, the better because the young ones are more open for new ways of seeing the world – and that, for me, is the art of living that makes everything possible!