Laura Vodanovich: Art, in all forms, is food for the soul

Petrus van der Velden, Tree study, 1893-98, oil on canvas. Gift of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, 1936. Te Papa (1936-0012-120)

The New Zealand International Film Festival ended on a high for me.

The last film, Elle, was a gripping (albeit rather violent) thriller. Probably not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure, but was certainly thought-provoking and kept me captivated throughout. Everyone will have their favourites of course but the standout films for me were The Innocents and I, Daniel Blake - that one will sit with me for a long time to come, perhaps forever.

It seems strange not to have gone to films every night this week and, having seen 12 films over the last two and a bit weeks, I feel I've been thoroughly shocked, amazed, inspired, challenged and entertained.

And with barely time for a breath, Hawke's Bay is straight into its next festival, the Arts Festival starting on October 4.

I've already bought tickets for four shows that immediately caught my eye and will no doubt buy more before the festival is over.

As a big Shakespeare fan there are some shows which have easy appeal, but festivals are the perfect opportunity to step outside the familiar and try something new, so I have some left-field choices on my list as well. There's nothing more wonderful than finding something new that inspires and gives you a new passion to follow and pursue. I encourage everyone to try something outside the box - you never know what you might discover that you'll simply love.

Whilst much of the programme is focused in the Spiegeltent (and if you haven't experienced that yet I can highly recommend it), a number of the shows are also in the Century and Municipal theatres. There's even one event at the Napier RSA - so it's easy for everyone from Havelock North, Hastings and Napier to see at least something in the programme.

And of course MTG Hawkes' Bay Museum and the Hastings City Art Gallery are involved. With a collaborative programme called Talk + Walk Swap, there's the opportunity to hear renowned local artist Martin Poppelwell talk on our exhibition Petrus van der Velden: Art of Two Halves, and conversely hear our Curator Taonga Māori, Tryphena Cracknell, talk on Martin Poppelwell's exhibition INDEX at the Hastings City Gallery. Toni MacKinnon, director of Hastings City Art Gallery, is leading a public art walking tour in Hastings, and Jessica Mio, curator of art at MTG, is doing the same in Napier.

I'm pleasantly amazed at the number of events and activities that happen within Napier and Hastings and around the wider region.

Certainly I cannot keep up with it all and am only managing to experience a small taste of the range on offer. What I do know is that we need to treasure and support festivals and events if we want them to keep happening.

Art, in all its forms, is food for the soul and incredibly important in order to have a healthy, vibrant and lively region. I hope you all value and support the wonderful events and opportunities that come our way.

• Tomorrow, Sunday, September 25, last day for Bodytok exhibition
• Quintessence NZSQ and James Dunham, Friday 30 September at 8:00pm. Tickets are available from Ticketek.
• Saturday, October 8, 11am, INDEX floor talk with Curator - Maori, Tryphena Cracknell
• Saturday, October 8, midday, Hastings public art walking tour with Director, Toni MacKinnon
• Saturday, October 15, 11am, Petrus van der Velden: Art of Two Halves floor talk with Martin Poppelwell
• Saturday, October 15, midday, Napier public art walking tour with Curator - Art, Jessica Mio

Laura Vodanovich is the director of the Museum Theatre Gallery (MTG) Hawke's Bay.