An exciting programme of live performance art and moving images will take over Auckland's city centre from 9 to 17 April.

Living Room 2010 is an event curated around the theme of surrealist artist Max Ernst's book of collage, Un Semaine de Bonte - "A Week of Goodness". The theme celebrates the notion of giving and kindness by bringing together a talented group of local and international artists and choreographers. Art enthusiasts and visitors to the CBD will be entertained by live performance, film and art installations as diverse as:

- Beige (by Isobel Dryburgh/Mark Harvey) - where dancers perform in an almost trance like state, physically connected by their beige costume that wraps haphazardly around their bodies

- A Field of Interconnected Realities (by Paula Roush)- a performative installation consisting of live drawing re-enacting sections of the book, Semaine de Bonte

- one-to-many and many-to-one (by et. Al/Sean Curran) - a temporary installation on site at Khartoum Place exploring issues of altruism and reciprocity

- The Future is already way behind the Present doesn't exist in my Mind (by Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen/Charles Koroneho ) - A performance inspired by the writings of Valentine de Saint-Point and Mina Loy that reflects on lust, romanticised sexuality, and the subjugation of women

- The Collection III (by Sarah Jane Parton) - the final instalment of a three part performance series by Wellington based artist Sarah Jane Parton, featuring multiple elements that shape a non-linear narrative about tomorrow.

- A Night of Goodness - a performance created and performed by dance graduates and students, exploring the theme for Living Room 2010 and using ideas gathered from working with Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen and Charles Koroneho (The Future is already way behind the Present doesn't exist in my Mind) - Urban Devas (by Phil Dadson/Carol Brown) - featuring a roving chorus which inhabits a series of city spaces through body movement, voice and sonic props.

Living Room 2010 programme also features an extensive film programme; artist talks at Artstation; and a British Council NZ Symposium which brings together artists, choreographers, and art managers to discuss the topic; Public Art - from High Brow to the Street.

Living Room 2010 is curated by Pontus Kyander, who was responsible for public art programming at Auckland City Council until earlier this year.

Arts, Culture and Recreation chairperson, Councillor Greg Moyle, says Living Room gives Aucklanders and visitors the chance to experience something they ordinarily wouldn't in the city centre.

"By changing urban open space to a stage for the unexpected, Living Room will challenge audiences to see the central city differently, and in a vibrant and energetic way," he says.

Living Room 2010 is a free annual CBD public art programme organised by Auckland City Council, and funded by the CBD targeted rate.

It is also supported by cultural relations agency, The British Council, and Creative New Zealand.

"Living Room 2010 is an important event because it is all about taking arts to a new level -- one which is publicly accessible, often audience led, and interactive. It is exciting to see this new consciousness in public art expressed in a NZ context but involving collaborations with top artists globally including the best from Britain," says British Council Country Director Ingrid Leary.

Visit the Living Room 2010 page at www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/events to find out more about the events, artists and choreographers presenting them.