Symposium

Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery, Napier

Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th October 2008

Over the weekend of Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th October 2008 craft/object makers, writers, collectors, curators and students gathered from around the country at the Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery, Napier to hear presentations from 13 speakers about the state of play with the craft/object sector in New Zealand.

The formal part of the programme consisted of: keynote presentations by Justin Paton, Senior Curator at the Christchurch Art Gallery and Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Director of the Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery; a curatorial panel discussion with representatives from five institutions; and eight presentations profiling the work of up and coming makers from around the country.

The informal part of the programme included the opening of the exhibition LIKE: An Experiment in Interpretation, curated by Nelson based jeweller Stella Chrysostomou; the bring, buy and swap contemporary craft market; a conference dinner and pre dinner drinks in the exhibition Raising Boys. The symposium ended with a floor talk in the exhibition Raising Boys led by the curator of the exhibition Lucy Hammonds.

Volume was held in conjunction with the exhibition Raising Boys - Ceramics by Andy Kingston, Paul Maseyk, Ross Mitchell-Anyon, Richard Parker and Martin Poppelwell and was generously supported by Creative New Zealand, Scenic Circle Te Pania, Design Cuisine, Farmgate Wines, David Trubridge Ltd, Esther Diamond, the Hawke's Bay Club, County Hotel, Art News, Art Zone and Home NZ.

Keynote Presentations

Justin Paton, Senior Curator at Christchurch Art Gallery is a leading authority on contemporary art in Australasia and was ideally placed to question the 'fit' of the object artist in contemporary art context. In his presentation Paton looked at the demands placed on the contemporary artist and the distinctions, if any, between that and the modern object-maker. It is likely that a version of the paper presented by Justin Paton will published in the New Year.

Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Director of Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gallery and a prominent cultural commentator, used his many years experience in tertiary education to ask whether in aligning itself with the polytechnic system whether craft might have 'sold its soul.' In his address Douglas extended his work on craft in the New Zealand education system, work that began in his essay 'Clayplay' - published in Upstarts: Knowledge and Change in Clay, published in association with Raising Boys.

Douglas Lloyd Jenkins Presentation (pdf 108kb)

Note: Copies of both Keynote presentations can be viewed on DVD. Copies are available for purchase - see details below.

Curatorial Panel Discussion

Four curators from institutions around New Zealand that are known to have a focus on object/craft curation were invited to be part of this panel discussion. The panellists were: Philip Clark, Director of Objectspace; Louis Le Vaillant, Curator - Applied Arts, Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira.; Claire Regnault, Manager of Concept Development & Research, TheNewDowse; Anna-Marie White, Curator, The Suter Art Gallery. The session was chaired by Lucy Hammonds, Curator of Design, Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery, Napier.

The panel responded to questions raised by the symposium attendees prior to the event, and questions from the audience on the day.

Makers Showcase

What you never knew you were missing...until now
Eight speakers from around New Zealand showcased the work of their favourite object makers highlighting those who are inspiring their peers, and gave the audience an insight into what's happening in workshops, classrooms and galleries throughout the country.

The presenters:

• Renee Bevan - Contemporary Jeweller, Curator and Jewellery Technician at Manukau Institute of Technology School of Visual Arts
• Caroline Billing - Director of Inform Contemporary Jewellery in Christchurch
• Matt Blomeley - Programme Coordinator, Objectspace in Auckland.
• Karl Chitham - Maker, Curator and Programme and Education Coordinator, Whakatane District Museum & Gallery
• Esther Lamb - Maker, Curator and Director of toggle.co.nz
• Genevieve Packer - Textile Designer, Craft Enthusiast and Tutor in Textiles at Massey University
• Paul Rayner - Maker, Curator, Gallery Director and Tutor at the Fine Arts Department of Wanganui UCOL.
• Anna-Marie White - Curator at The Suter Art Gallery, Nelson

Craft/Object Curators Forum

In advance of the symposium a half day the HBMAG hosted a Craft/Object Curators Forum on Friday 17th October which was an opportunity for curators from around the country to discuss craft related projects they had been or were working on.

Volume DVD

The sessions from the key Volume event on Saturday 18th October were recorded and copies of the DVD's are available for purchase. Costs: $10 per DVD or $30 for all sessions (4 DVD's).

• Keynote Presentations by Douglas Lloyd Jenkins and Justin Paton
• Curatorial Panel Discussion
• Presentations on Makers

• Volume Programme (pdf 47kb)
• Volume Speaker Bios (pdf 32kb)

For more information about volume please contact

Tanya Wilkinson
Ph: 06 835 7781 x 741
E-mail Eloise Taylor

Lucy Hammonds
Ph: 06 835 7781 x 740
E-mail Lucy Hammonds