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Scoop
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
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Best Designed Books In Aotearoa Revealed
Beautifully designed books are in the spotlight with the announcement today of the finalists for the 2025 PANZ Book Design Awards. The Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) established the awards to promote excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best book design in Aotearoa New Zealand. 'The exceptional calibre of entries this year made some of the categories near-impossible to narrow down into a shortlist, and there was just one category that the judges could agree upon without lively debate,' says convenor Chloe Blades, an artist and manager at Unity Books Auckland. 'This is a testament to the brilliance of the people dedicating their time to bringing New Zealand's finest books to life.' Chloe was joined by Eva Charlton, graphic designer for design studio Extended Whānau and Jo Bailey, designer and educator and researcher at Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University. Together they spent many hours selecting the shortlist from a pool of 112 entries. The judges were particularly struck by the strength of submissions for the Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children's Book, where they struggled to narrow down the submissions and settled on a larger shortlist of seven titles to reflect the depth and quality of the books entered. A more sombre, muted colour palette emerged across the entries this year, with the judges noting the predominance of greens and neutrals, a contrast to last year which was dominated by bold, flashy neon. 'This was a nod perhaps to the trend-setting Pantone Colour of the Year for 2025, Mocha Mousse, and the calming, grounding presence of books, especially amidst a tumultuous political and economic climate,' says Chloe. Chloe also noted that open spine binding was another recurring feature which she believes suggests a strong shift in the traditional format as a future looms where books could be regurgitated and thoughtlessly designed by AI. 'From my perspective, seeing what's coming in to the bookshop, New Zealand is pushing the boundaries and challenging what a book is and can be and AI has nothing on our designers.' The judges must now select the winners of the nine categories and choose the recipient of the main prize, the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book sponsored by NielsenIQ BookData. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony in Auckland on Thursday 18 September where attendees will also be able to vote for the BookHub People's Choice Award. The industry's design talent will assemble the next day for the PANZ Book Design Workshop which provides the opportunity to dissect the awards, enjoy panel sessions led by leading book designers and network with peers. The 2025 PANZ Book Design Awards finalists are: Penguin Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book · Eileen Mayo's Rare and Endangered Birds of Aotearoa New Zealand by Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū). Designed by Aaron Beehre · Fenoga Tāoga Niue I Aotearoa: Niue Heritage Journey In Aotearoa edited by Molima Molly Pihigia QSM, Toluma'anave Barbara Makuati-Afitu, Kolokesa Uafa Mahina-Tuai, Hikule'o Fe'aomoeako Melaia Mahina and Janson Chau (Mafola Press). Designed by Janson Chau (Alt Group) · Herbst: Architecture in context by John Walsh (Massey University Press). Designed by Alan Deare and Anna Wilkinson (Area Design) · Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press). Designed by Katie Kerr (Studio Katie Kerr) · worm, root, wort... & bane by Ann Shelton (Alice Austen House Press). Designed by Duncan Munro (Lucky Stairs Studio) Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book · Becoming Tangata Tiriti: Working with Māori, Honouring the Treaty by Avril Bell (Auckland University Press). Designed by Gideon Keith (Seven) · Grid: The life and times of First World War fighter ace Keith Caldwell by Adam Claasen (Massey University Press). Cover designed by Nathanael Claasen and Kate Barraclough, interior by Kate Barraclough (Kate Frances Design) · In the Half Light of a Dying Day by C. K. Stead (Auckland University Press). Designed by Duncan Munro (Lucky Stairs Studio) · Japan: An Autobiography by Peter Shaw (Six Point Press). Cover designed by Arch MacDonnell, interior by Arch MacDonnell & Jane MacDonnell (Inhouse) · Slender Volumes by Richard von Sturmer (Spoor Books). Designed by Katie Kerr (Studio Katie Kerr) Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children's Book · A Lot of Silly by Joy Cowley & David Barrow (Gecko Press). Designed by Vida Kelly · The Beach Activity Book: 99 Ideas for Activities by the Water around Aotearoa New Zealand by Rachel Haydon & Pippa Keel Situ (Te Papa Press). Designed by Kate Barraclough (Kate Frances Design) with illustrations by Pippa Keel Situ · The Dream Factory / Te Wheketere Moemoeā by Steph Matuku & Zak Ātea (Huia Publishers). Designed by Te Kani Price & Sophie Hooper (Huia Publishers) · Five Wee Pūteketeke by Nicola Toki & Jo Pearson (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand). Designed by Kate Barraclough (Kate Frances Design) · Nanny Rina's Amazing Nets/Ngā Kupenga a Nanny Rina by Qiane Matata-Sipu & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Penguin Random House New Zealand). Designed by Cat Taylor (Cat Taylor Design) · Piki te Ora: Your Wellbeing Journal by Hira Nathan and Jessie Eyre with illustrations by Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand). Designed by Megan van Staden · The Witch of Maketu and the Bleating Lambs by Anika Moa & Rebecca ter Borg (Penguin Random House New Zealand). Designed by Cat Taylor (Cat Taylor Design) PANZ Award for Best Education Book or Series — Primary · Kiwi Bees Have Tiny Knees: Native Bees of Aotearoa New Zealand by Rachel Weston (Weston Books). Designed by Sarah Elworthy · My Matariki Colouring and Activity Book by Rangi Matamua, Miriama Kamo & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Scholastic New Zealand). Cover designed by Vida Kelly, interior by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White and Vida Kelly, 1010 Printing Award for Best Cookbook · The Food Fountain of Youth by Lonneke Botello Hernandez (Bateman Books). Designed by Floor van Lierop, ( · Kai Feast: Food Stories & Recipes from the Maunga to the Moana by Christall Lowe (Bateman Books). Designed by Christall Lowe and Katrina Duncan · Oikos — An Ode to Food, Family & Friends by Theo Papouis (Oikos). Designed by Seachange · That Green Olive by Olivia Moore (Penguin Random House New Zealand). Designed by Cat Taylor (Cat Taylor Design) Allen & Unwin Award for Best Commercial Book for Adults · 101 Ways to Find Calm: How to Use Your Body to Soothe Your Mind by Rebekah Ballagh (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand). Designed by Kate Barraclough (Kate Frances Design), with illustrations by Rebekah Ballagh · All That We Know by Shilo Kino (Moa Press). Cover designed by Rachel Clark, interior by Simon Paterson Bookhouse · Amma by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press). Cover designed by Megan van Staden, interior by Simon Paterson Bookhouse · At The Grand Glacier Hotel by Laurence Fearnley (Penguin Random House New Zealand). Designed by Cat Taylor (Cat Taylor Design) · Feijoa by Kate Evans (Moa Press). Designed by Megan van Staden with interior line illustrations by Ruby Watson · Wild Walks Aotearoa: A Guide to Tramping in New Zealand by Hannah-Rose Watt (Penguin Random House New Zealand). Designed by Carla Sy HarperCollins Publishers Award for Best Cover · Bad Archive by Flora Feltham (Te Herenga Waka University Press). Designed by Todd Atticus · Dummies & Doppelgängers by Felicity Milburn (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū). Designed by Peter Bray · Oikos — An Ode to Food, Family & Friends by Theo Papouis (Oikos). Designed by Seachange · Old Black Cloud: A cultural history of mental depression in Aotearoa New Zealand by Jacqueline Leckie (Massey University Press). Designed by Sarah Elworthy · Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press). Designed by Katie Kerr (Studio Katie Kerr) · worm, root, wort... & bane by Ann Shelton (Alice Austen House Press). Designed by Duncan Munro (Lucky Stairs Studio) Te Papa Press Award for Best Typography · Fenoga Tāoga Niue I Aotearoa: Niue Heritage Journey In Aotearoa edited by Molima Molly Pihigia QSM, Toluma'anave Barbara Makuati-Afitu, Kolokesa Uafa Mahina-Tuai, Hikule'o Fe'aomoeako Melaia Mahina and Janson Chau (Mafola Press). Designed by Janson Chau (Alt Group) · Japan: An Autobiography by Peter Shaw (Six Point Press). Cover designed by Arch MacDonnell, interior by Arch MacDonnell & Jane MacDonnell (Inhouse) · Oikos — An Ode to Food, Family & Friends by Theo Papouis (Oikos). Designed by Seachange · Rēwena and Rabbit Stew: The Rural Kitchen in Aotearoa, 1800–1940 by Katie Cooper (Auckland University Press). Designed by Kalee Jackson · Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press). Designed by Katie Kerr (Studio Katie Kerr) · worm, root, wort... & bane by Ann Shelton (Alice Austen House Press). Designed by Duncan Munro (Lucky Stairs Studio) Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand Emerging Designer Award Sarah-Louise Crawford · Charlie Tangaroa and the God of War by T K Roxborogh (Huia Publishers) · Te Huarahi Māori: A Māori-Medium Initial Teacher Education Programme edited by Peter J. Keegan, Tania Cliffe-Tautari, Ruth Lemon and Tauwehe Tamati (Huia Publishers) Tahlia Conrad-Hinga · The Eldest Girl by Olivia Aroha Giles (Huia Publishers) · Migration by Steph Matuku (Huia Publishers) · Te Takarangi series: Weeping Waters, Mana Tangata, Terror in our Midst, Huia Histories of Māori, The Parihaka Album, Māori and Parliament, Resistance by various (Huia Publishers) Note: This year the decision was made not to proceed with the Best Educational Book or Series - Secondary / Tertiary due to insufficient entries. THE JUDGING PANEL: Chloe Blades (Convenor) is a manager at Unity Books in Auckland, where she's been bookselling since 2017, and is also a Director on the Board of Booksellers New Zealand. Last year Chloe was on the PANZ Book Design Awards judging panel and recently organised and chaired a panel at Unity on AI and the future of creativity and design, alongside a BBC journalist, Data Analyst, and the Founder of Crane Brothers. She's an artist based in West Auckland, too, featuring in August's Your Home and Garden magazine with exhibitions coming up at Art in the Park and Titirangi's Upstairs Gallery. Eva Charlton is a graphic designer based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland who specialises in design for the arts and culture sector. She currently works as Graphic Designer for design studio Extended Whānau and on independent projects, collaborating with artists, curators, and writers. Recent projects include the publications Rewi: Ata Haere, Kia Tere and Ana Iti: What is that Salty Voice? and the rebrand of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui. Eva previously worked as Graphic Designer for The Dowse Art Museum in Te Awakairangi Lower Hutt and holds a Bachelor of Design from Auckland University of Technology. Dr Jo Bailey is a designer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Her roots before emigrating to Aotearoa are in the UK. As a designer she is interested in 'good design' in all ways: functional, beautiful, equitable and inclusive. Her practice focuses on making complex information more accessible and engaging. That's frequently through graphic and book design (she has designed titles for many publishers in Aotearoa and beyond), and also science communication, which was the focus of her PhD research. She is an educator and researcher at Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University, where she co-leads the Visual Communication Design programme. This is Jo's second time judging the PANZ Book Design Awards
Scoop
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
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Peter Robinson: Charcoal Drawing & Hye Rim Lee: Swan Lake At Christchurch Art Gallery
Saturday 2 August to 23 November Two very different exhibitions will open alongside each other at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū this August. Each has been developed by an internationally recognised contemporary artist and will offer visitors an immersive and unforgettable experience. Peter Robinson: Charcoal Drawing Don't let the title fool you – leading Aotearoa artist Peter Robinson (Kāi Tahu) is always thinking outside the square, and well beyond the limits of a sheet of paper. His upcoming exhibition Peter Robinson: Charcoal Drawing invites viewers to become part of what Lead Curator Felicity Milburn describes as 'a three-dimensional drawing in space.' 'This epically-scaled installation plays with the idea of walking through a drawing and feeling how it transforms around you as you see it from different heights and angles. 'Peter explored this way of working at Whangārei Art Museum in 2024, and this new iteration responds directly to the tall, square setting of our Sutton Gallery space,' says Milburn. Multiple six-metre-long, powder-coated aluminium beams will be bent into shape by Robinson and a small team at the Gallery during the days leading up to the opening of the exhibition. 'It's a very hands-on process where careful planning meets a playful responsiveness to space, resulting in a viewing experience that feels both precise and unpredictable,' says Milburn. 'Peter works with shapes that are deliberately open-ended. They carry echoes of koru, niho and other forms familiar from customary Māori artmaking, while also encouraging a host of other readings, such as a monumental finger curled in invitation,' Milburn explains. 'The scale is shifting and uncertain, and by choosing a surface treatment that resembles burnt or weathered wood, he transforms a sterile, industrial material into something much more organic and full of possibility.' Felicity Milburn will lead a conversation with Peter Robinson about his work in the exhibition space at 1pm on opening day, Saturday 2 August. Hye Rim Lee: Swan Lake For leading intermedia artist Hye Rim Lee (Korea, New Zealand), an upbringing immersed in music, theatre and dance instilled a love of creativity and storytelling says Curator Ken Hall. 'That passion led Lee into an international career in digital artistry. Like her late father, Jin Soon Lee, who was a prominent theatre director in South Korea, she brings stories, characters and imaginative worlds to life – only her stage is a screen. Hye Rim Lee Swan Lake (still) 2025. 3D animation. 3D generalist: Steven Stringer. Courtesy of the artist 'Lee works closely with a team of animators and sound engineers to create large-scale projected 3D animation shaped through a process of careful refinement,' says Hall. 'She brings a strong directorial vision to the animation, shaping each element from concept to final presentation.' Lee's latest major work, Swan Lake, draws inspiration from Tchaikovsky's iconic ballet and includes choreography by the acclaimed dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Lee's fascination with swans began during the 2020 Level 4 lockdown when she often encountered the graceful birds at Western Springs, near her Grey Lynn studio. Another deeply personal thread running through Lee's work is the impact of loss – her parents in the 1980s, and her sister in 2008. 'Elements of grief and darkness give way to hope and healing, echoing Lee's own journey of transformation and spiritual depth,' says Hall. 'There's an ethereal, emotive quality to Lee's Swan Lake. The two swans share a tenderness that feels almost human. While reflecting the emotional depth of the original ballet, Lee's Swan Lake reimagines the narrative in a striking way.' At 11am on opening day, Saturday 2 August, hear from Hye Rim Lee in conversation with Ken Hall in the Gallery's Philip Carter Family Auditorium. Peter Robinson: Charcoal Drawing and Hye Rim Lee: Swan Lake open on Saturday 2 August and close on 23 November 2025.
Scoop
31-05-2025
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20 September 2025 To 15 February 2026
Whāia te Taniwha, a new major exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, explores the enduring presence of taniwha in Aotearoa. Opening 20 September, this exhibition of work by Māori artists offers a window into the rich narratives of taniwha that tāngata whenua have held for generations. Co-curator Chloe Cull says that while many people in Aotearoa are familiar with the idea of taniwha, post-colonial, Western representations of taniwha have often been one-dimensional or inaccurate. 'This exhibition celebrates the diversity of taniwha. They are shapeshifters, oceanic guides, leaders, adversaries, guardians and tricksters who have left their marks on the Aotearoa landscape. ' Whāia te Taniwha also responds to the impact of colonisation on Māori knowledge systems by celebrating the deep and varied presence of taniwha within te ao Māori,' says Cull. The exhibition includes new major commissions from renowned Aotearoa artists such as Lisa Reihana and Maungarongo Te Kawa. Ngāi Tahu artists will also be well represented in the exhibition, with new work being developed by Jennifer Rendall, Fran Spencer, Kommi Tamati-Elliffe, Turumeke Harrington, Piri Cowie and Madison Kelly. These new works will be shown alongside existing works on loan to the Gallery. 'With the bulk of the exhibition comprising new commissions and loans, it'll be the first opportunity to see many of these works in Christchurch,' says Cull. The exhibition was inspired by Taniwha: A cultural history – a Marsden Fund supported research project by exhibition co-curators Dr Kirsty Dunn and Dr Madi Williams. Dunn explains that the inability to categorise or define taniwha are part of their enduring power. 'Many of the artists consider how ancestral knowledge within taniwha narratives provide potential pathways through contemporary challenges; these pathways are powerful, sometimes playful, sometimes confronting, and sometimes they reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Audiences might have some of their expectations challenged in this exhibition.' For those who enjoy interactive experiences, there will be a few things on offer – including an augmented reality sculpture and a video game that invites players to search for items that can uplift the wellbeing of a taniwha. Williams adds, 'Just as taniwha take many shapes and forms, the exhibition includes a multitude of disciplines – from painting and sculpture to textiles, video poetry and photography. 'Visitors will be invited to consider who, rather than what, taniwha are – and how taniwha stories can help us understand and navigate the world around us.' Whāia te Taniwha opens Saturday 20 September 2025 and closes on 15 February 2026.
Scoop
29-05-2025
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Fiona Pardington Reveals Exhibition Concept Going To Venice Biennale
Aotearoa New Zealand artist, Dr Fiona Pardington (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Clan Cameron of Erracht), announces her 2026 Venice Biennale exhibition: Taharaki Skyside. Her major new work for Venice builds on the content of her 2024 series Te taha o te rangi, 'the edge of the heavens' which consists of photographs of Aotearoa New Zealand birds preserved as taxidermy specimens in museum collections. Applying the precision, care and responsiveness to historical and cultural resonances she has previously brought to taonga, Pardington's remarkable avian portraits engage with the tradition of memento mori. By resurrecting their dignity, charisma and wildness, Pardington also brings these long-dead birds vividly to life. Taharaki Skyside makes direct connection with the realm where birds act as messengers between the mortal and spiritual worlds, she says. 'Birds can symbolize familial love, romantic attachment, ecological warnings, they can be intimations of mortality, and in my work they can also represent individual people in my life. The ideas I am conjuring remind us of the integral significance of manu within te ao Māori – as sources of food and materials, and intermediaries between human and divine worlds,' says Pardington. 'Taxidermy occupies a unique space between love, death, and fetish. When photographing in museum collections, I have observed the artifice of the birds' presentation, the way they have been posed, the care with which they have been assembled, and, sometimes, their worn condition. By using strategic lighting and angles I am trying to draw out their charisma – to free them from the constraints of being mere objects,' she says. Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū is Creative New Zealand's delivery partner for 2026, and Pardington's Venice project is curated by Chloe Cull and Felicity Milburn. Throughout her practice, Pardington has drawn acclaim for images that invite us to see and feel the world in a new way, says Milburn. 'Her works for Taharaki Skyside carry vital relevance in a global context. Her images underscore the far-reaching and devastating losses – ecological and cultural – that have occurred as the result of human impact and colonisation.' 'She opens up moments of extraordinary resonance and recognition that transcend time and place, life and death,' Milburn says. Taharaki Skyside opens at La Biennale di Venezia on 9 May 2026. Bio notes: Artist Dr Fiona Pardington is responsible for some of the most memorable images in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand artmaking. For more than three decades, she has crafted a highly respected practice nationally and internationally, operating largely within the tradition of the photographic still life. Pardington often works with museum collections, highlighting the vital cultural and spiritual significance of taonga and natural history specimens for Māori. Pardington has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the Moët et Chandon Fellowship (1991–2), the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship (1996–7) and the Ngāi Tahu residency at the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka (2006). In 2011 Pardington became a New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate, and in 2016 was named a Knight (Chevalier) in the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the French Prime Minister, the first New Zealand visual artist ever to receive this honour. In 2017, Pardington was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to photography. Pardington's works have been extensively collected by all of Aotearoa New Zealand's major public galleries, as well as the Musée du Quai Branly (Paris), the National Gallery of Art (Washington, US), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Victoria.
