It’s time for another Pecha Kucha Night, where creative people of Wellington will each give a short talk – with 20 slides each at 20 seconds per slide.

It’s TONIGHT – Monday 19 October, at the lovely Downstage Theatre. Doors open at 6.30pm, with the event starting at 7.30. It’s $9 admission – cash only.

Tonight’s line-up:

Ralph Johns – landscape architect
Meena Kadri – design lecturer/communications strategist/researcher
Philippe Campays – architect/artist
Sarah Maxey – graphic designer/artist
Andy Irving – artist/designer
Hilary Beaton – Downstage Theatre
Troy Donovan – facade designer
James M. Maddock
Margaret Austin
Craig Nicholson – interculturalist
Sheba Williams – artist
George Hajian – graphic designer
Meighan Ellis – artist
James Everett – game designer
Alison Wong – novelist/poet

Tomorrow eve, come to the Film Archive and witness the unveiling of The Blue Room, a group show including (lucky number) 13 artists who were asked to respond ‘in a psychic way’ to an idea, site or place. Some of the results are quite startling.

Curated by Pippa Sanderson the show features Wellingtonians Bek Pilcher, Johanna Sanders and Pippa Sanderson, with Elle Loui August, Bekah Carran, Louise Clifton, Andrea du Chatenier, Violet Faigan, Lonnie Hutchinson, Saskia Leek, Louise Menzies, Dane Mitchell and Stuart Shepherd.

Some are believers, some skeptics, but all raise questions about the fascination with the psychic that haunts us now – the television programmes, the internet sites devoted to spells and spectres, the touring psychics…

All welcome at the opening, 5:30pm tomorrow, plus there’s an Artist Talk at the Archive 12:15pm, Tuesday 27 October.

The exhibition runs until Saturday 21 November 2009. 

This Sunday’s Soundstage @ Downstage is a goody – Rhian Sheehan plays his album Standing in Silence from start to finish with accompanying filmic elements by Gareth Moon (Nektar).

Guaranteed to be like nothing you have seen at Downstage before, Rhian’s sound as described by him is “like floating through space in a warm bath”.

Described by reviewers as “spine tingling…a tsunami of sound” (Tom Cardy, Dominion Post), Standing in Silence at Downstage features a full complement of live musicians playing alongside Rhian including key collaborator Jeff Boyle, two percussionists, a string section, Raashi Sheehan (Rhombus), Jeramiah Ross (aka Module) and Woolshed Sessions members Jess Chambers, Andy Hummel and Peter Hill.

For those who like to join in, custom made music boxes will be onsale before the show, which you can play in particular tracks.

The luscious Rhian Sheehan: Standing in Silence this Sunday 18 Oct @ Downstage Theatre.  It starts promptly at the sensible hour of 7pm.

For more info check out Simon Sweetman’s blog , and you can purchase tickets at Downstage.

LATE UPDATE: Only 16 tickets left!

A lot of people don’t know that Wellington has quite a sizable Brazilian expatriate community. A bunch of them and their Kiwi friends have been working hard to put together the Live Brazil 2009 Festival this weekend.

The festival will comprise music, dance, capoeira, and cooking and drink workshops. It starts on Friday night with a perfomance featuring Tambolelê (from Minas Gerais) at the Memorial Theatre on the Vic campus, with most other events taking place at the Southern Cross.

Full details at this chaotic but information-rich site or in summary form here.

This particular Wellingtonista will be lurking in Carmen Miranda’s band on Saturday night — come and demonstrate your fruit-laden costume and we can have a caipirinha.

Spotted near the Mt Vic lookout.

I dunno about the Greater Wellington guys, but I reckon the Wellingtonista could have put all this information on one sign – the only differnce between the two is the name of the poison, and the colour of the pellet.  

Our "coverage" of events here at Wellingtonista can be a bit scattergun at times. Like the tagline says, "random stuff about New Zealand’s capital city since 2005".

The general premise is that we write about stuff we like, from whatever angle we like.  However if it isn’t featured, it don’t mean we don’t rate it, just means that we have been busy or some such.

Any-the-ho, last weekend was the Maori Art Market at Te Rauparaha Arena and Pataka Gallery in Porirua.  It would have been great to see ta moko artist Mark Kopua at work but you snooze, you lose in this town. 

Last Wednesday also would have been a great chance to attend a talk on Mana Whenua Maori History in Wellington, given by Morrie Love in the reopened City Gallery Wellington.  It was free, damnit! 

Never mind. It is good that Wellington offers so much to the curious and the brave; those who want to actually participate in the cultural life of this city.  We will continue to fossick for cultural gems in the twitterstream and other places to alert you to what is going on out there but please forgive us if we miss some of the good stuff.

After the jump some stuff you shouldn’t miss this week (including tonight!):

 The Wellingtonista drink a lot together, so it’s natural that at times we will end up blowing each other’s trumpets. Let us show you what we mean:

• Martha has opened up a new branch of the fabulous Wanda Harland at 24 Elizabeth St. Mt Victoria.
• Sue has another Craft 2.0 coming up on October 24.
• Joanna has started yet another blog. You are so entertaining.com is all about hosting events. The Pretties are also having another party/clothing swap that you’re invited to. 

Miranda Harcourt’s new one-woman play "Biography of My Skin" has just opened at Downstage, and, crikey, it’s good. My co-theatre-goer Kowhai and I have spent a bit of time since discussing its impact on us.

The premise of "Biography of my Skin" is that it’s a one-woman biographical play written for actress Miranda Harcourt by her husband, Stuart McKenzie. So she’s telling her story, but in her husband’s words. Clever, huh?