I love to collaborate. I’ve worked with public libraries, musicians, visual artists, graphic designers, community groups on collaborative projects, working at festivals, conferences and retreats.
Some recent collaboration highlights:
>Palmy Zine Fest! I’m on the planning committee for the 2020. It’s going to be epic.
>Verb Festival 2019: I chaired the event Climate Changing Fiction
‘The latest works from Jeff Murray (The Melt), Lawrence Patchett (The Burning River), Maru Nihoniho (Metia Interactive) and Elizabeth Knox (The Absolute Book) all explore our world in the wake of climate catastrophes. A fascinating hour with Helen Lehndorf on art as activism and imagination as a vehicle for hope. #CliFi’
>National Poetry Day 2019: A collaboration with the Palmerston North City Library’s new maker space Blueprint. ‘Bags and Badges for National Poetry Day’. I led a 2-hour writing workshop which culminated in the writers making poetry bags and badges.
>Kahini: I’ve taught writing and yoga at the Kahini writer’s retreat for the last five years (and will be there again in 2020) & taught a day workshop for Kahini ‘Explorer Extraordinary’ – in journaling and creative self-expression to support the creative process.
>An evening with Rob Thorne & Helen Lehndorf 2016 – Rob and I are old friends and we collaborated on a words + music performance – his Nga Taonga Pouru instruments and loop pedal, my words.
>Black River: A Collaboration in Print & Poetry, Te Manawa Art Gallery 2015
Inspired by Ralph Hotere’s collaboration with poets Te Manawa bought together local artists and poets to actively engage in a collaborative process.
The participants, who have a connection to the Manawatū region, are Israel Birch, Leonel Alvarado, Rachael Garland, James Brown, Heather Partel, Helen Lehndorf, David Pearce, Johanna Aitchison, Ngataiharuru Taepa, Gavin Reedy, Virginia Warbrick, and Tim Upperton. Poets were paired with artists to make new work relating to the river.
>Eyes in the Skies: Seven Poets, Seven Prints for Matariki 2009
A collaboration with artists Virginia and Warren Warbrick. Seven local poets -the ‘seven sisters’- write from seven prints by Virginia Warbrick. The poems and prints were exhibitied at Square Edge, Palmerston North and culminated in a multimedia poetry and Nga Taonga Pouru performance. I wrote a poem for the exhibition, co-ordinated the poets and assisted on event production.
Helen Lehndorf 