th’Orchard

“Orchard is an area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees”

Th’Orchard is the name of the arts space located within the Rowley (McCarthy St) shops. The name is also given to the overall concept and of the projects created within and from the space. The name was conceived by Mark Vanilau and Solomon (Sol) Smith, as they sought an identity that would define the intention of cultivating the arts and creating a platform that artist could use to share and express their talent.

Historically the Hoon Hay/Rowley community is rich with aspiring artists of all disciplines. The community has a high Maori and Pacific population and has a high number of social housing and low income earners. The low incomes contribute to many of the aspiring artist not having the means to pursue their dreams in the arts. Many of these artists have contributed to making the Hoon Hay/Rowley community an amazingly cool place to be a part of.

We recognised the need to provide a space artists can use to hone their craft and expand their learning in the arts and life in general. Mark is a renowned and recognised recording artist and Sol has a background in the arts, events and community. We have a passion to help the next generation of artists both young and older to express themselves through the arts and have partnered with Crossover Trust to open up “th'Orchard” in Rowley.

th'Orchard are looking for opportunities to grow, record and platform artists. This will be achieved through workshops, mentoring, work experience, collaborations and live/recorded performances. Despite the former being identified, Mark and Sol see the establishment and growth of th'Orchard as being an organic process and will be shaped by those who become a part of the space.

The team has grown over the past 3 years and are super excited to get going and look forward in creating th'Orchard. We recognise that the success of this will be achieved through building strong and trusting relationships with those who take part and those who walk beside th'Orchard. th'Orchard will grow and will help grow those who plant themselves within its soil.