Latest news with #CreativeNewZealand
Scoop
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
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.
The Spinoff
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Live updates from the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Books editor Claire Mabey blogs this year's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony live from Aotea Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau. Welcome to the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards! These are the awards for writing for adults across fiction and nonfiction. The prize money is the largest in the land and a win can change a book's life. Tune in from 4pm for some warm-up posts, and from 7pm for a blow-by-blow of the ceremony as it unfolds. The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.
Newsroom
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsroom
Ockhams: in Emily's footsteps
The biggest night of the year in New Zealand literature is set to take place. Last year Emily Perkins waltzed off the Ockham book awards stage with $64,000 in her purse. Tonight, at around 9.30pm, one of four shortlisted authors will follow her as the 2025 winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, and pocket $65,000. It will be the final grand announcement of the awards, following prizes of $12,000 to winners of nonfiction, illustrated nonfiction and poetry. It takes place at the Aotea Centre in Auckland. Miriamo Kamo will act as MC. She received online criticism on Monday for her alleged mispronunciation of Chinese names as MC at this weekend's Barfoot & Thompson real estate awards but perhaps that was a mischievous attack and in any case no Chinese names are shortlisted for the Ockhams, only 19 European, eight Māori and one Pasifika. They make up a very wide range of authors – quite young, very old, some talented – who are in line for a shot of money and recognition for their hard work and brilliant ideas. I have made my feelings clear about who I hope wins the fiction prize and nonfiction prize, but recuse myself from chiming in with my five cents' worth about the poetry prize on account of the fact I am friends and allies with all four shortlisted writers, and have no opinion on the illustrated non-fiction prize. Anyway, and as ever, who cares what I think; it's the night of the judges, of their whims and tastes and reckonings; and alongside the shortlisted authors, and their publishers and editors and designers and proofreaders, the judges, too, ought to be thanked for their time and commitment. They don't earn a fortune for all their reading but they take the job seriously. The sponsors also deserve special cheers. The New Zealand book trade is in a bit of a slump. Bookstore sales are slow. Funding is increasingly difficult. Publishers – everyone remembers the day of the long knives at Penguin last year – are vulnerable. Huzzah, then, to the continued and positive support of Ockham (this marks their 10th year as principal backer) and the other sponsors at the national book awards: Creative New Zealand, the Acorn Foundation (via the late Jann Medlicott, who guaranteed her support of the fiction award in perpetuity), Peter and Marry Biggsy, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, e-commerce quango BookHub, and The Mātātuhi Foundation. But nothing happens without the writers. It all starts with their decision to write, their faith and wit and delusion and stamina and resolve. Congratulations are due to all the authors of the 16 shortlisted titles. The fiction prize is contested by Damien Wilkins, author of my favourite book of any kind in 2024, Delirious, a beautiful novel about old age; Kirsty Gunn's book of short stories Pretty Ugly (which includes her dark masterpiece 'All Gone', by far the most disturbing story to have ever appeared in ReadingRoom); and The Mires by Tina Makereti and At the Grand Glacier Hotel by Laurence Fearnley. To nonfiction. Two books of essays that I didn't read, The Chthonic Cycle by Una Cruickshank and Bad Archive by Flora Feltham, will compete with Richard Shaw's excellent book The Unsettled: Small Stories of Colonisation and my favourite, Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku's memoir Hine Toa: A Story of Bravery, published by HarperCollins and one of the chief reasons I named them publisher of the year at the 2024 ReadingRoom awards. The four very, very good collections shortlisted for the poetry prize are Hopurangi – Songcatcher: Poems from the Maramataka by the nicest man in New Zealand letters, Robert Sullivan; Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit by Emma Neale, who has just finished editing my next book and was a total delight to work with; In the Half Light of a Dying Day by my amigo CK Stead; and Slender Volumes by the fabulous Richard von Sturmer. There are good pictures and some interesting text in the four books up for the illustrated nonfiction award, Edith Collier: Early New Zealand Modernist, Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art, Leslie Adkin: Farmer Photographer and Te Ata o Tū The Shadow of Tūmatauenga: The New Zealand Wars Collections. ReadingRoom will magically reappear this evening at about 9:31pm with commentary on the winners.
NZ Herald
12-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Māori artist Fred Graham dies, New Zealand arts community pays tribute
'Uncle Fred was a gentleman, a happy-go-lucky kind of person. 'He was an example for the young ones... not just in the art world... His mantra was 'whatever you set your mind to, you can be successful in'.' Papa said while Graham had now passed on to the realm of night, his art was his biggest legacy and would last for generations to come. Papa said numerous people from all over New Zealand, including artist Kura Te Waru Rewiri, and others from Wellington, Palmerston North and the Bay of Plenty, had already come to Pōhara Marae near Cambridge to pay their respects. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage said on social media Graham was a 'formidable presence' in Aotearoa New Zealand's art scene. 'Graham's legacy in Māori art will be remembered in the story of New Zealand for years to come.' Creative New Zealand said they acknowledged the passing of a 'larger than life artist, mentor, and trailblazer in the world of Māori arts'. 'A master carver, sculptor, and educator, his contributions have profoundly shaped the landscape of Aotearoa's artistic identity and elevated the presence and prestige of Māori art nationally and internationally,' the statement reads. 'His legacy is one of integrity, innovation, and deep cultural grounding.' Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery Museum & Arts director Liz Cotton said Graham was 'a true pioneer'. 'He will be greatly missed both as an artist and as a mentor who generously shared his maatauranga with younger generations,' Cotton said. 'Matua Fred's legacy will continue to be felt across the motu and here at the Museum. As visitors enter our foyer, they are welcomed by his beautiful sculpture 'Keriana' which was carved in 1984 and represents a bird that shelters the young under her wing. 'Also, the beloved centrepiece of our marae aatea is the bold and symbolic waharoa 'Te Mauri o Te Iwi'. 'Moe mai raa e te Rangatira.' Graham represented New Zealand at many international exhibitions throughout his career, including the 1986 Te Ao Marama (Seven Māori Artists) exhibition that toured Australia and a 1992 United States tour showcasing contemporary Māori art. In 2017 he received the Creative New Zealand Te Waka Toi supreme award for his lifetime of service to the advancement of Māori art and cultural leadership. More recently he exhibited at the Venice Biennale, where several of his paintings and sculptures shared a gallery space with the work of his son, Brett Graham. In 1955, Graham was selected as a Māori All Black, and played three games. Graham was also a teacher, starting his career in Northland, before moving to Toihoukura in Gisborne and Papakura High School where he was head of art in the 1960s and 70s. At PHS, he coached the First XV to win the Moascar Cup in 1970. In the 2025 New Year Honours, he was made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Māori art. In 2018, he was made an officer of the NZ Order of Merit. Graham has produced sculptures that are displayed in many New Zealand cities and towns as well as international galleries. His recent work includes the sculpture 'Waka Maumahara' located between the four-lane Hamilton section and the SH1C offramp and 'Te Manu Rangimaarie' (bird of peace) at the Piarere roundabout just north of Tīrau. Other work is in the courtyard of the High Court at Auckland (Justice), on the wall outside Auckland Art Gallery (Te Waka Toi o Tamaki) and in the Auckland Domain (Kaitiaki). Graham was preparing for the opening of the exhibition 'Fred Graham: Toi Whakaata / Reflections' at Christchurch Art Gallery. His nephew Papa said it was still to be confirmed if it would go ahead. Graham previously lived in Waiuku. He was the beloved husband of the late Norma and leaves behind his children Gary, Paula, Kathryn, Brett and Kara, and nine grandchildren. His funeral service will be held in Ngāruawāhia at the Chapel at Hopuhopu Sports Grounds (451 Old Taupiri Rd), which Graham designed together with Norma, at 11am tomorrow. Papa said anyone who would like to farewell Graham was welcome.
The Spinoff
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
‘A medieval Russian fever-dream': Rachael Craw's favourite books
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Rachael Craw, author of The Lost Saint. The book I wish I'd written The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I want to stuff the pages in my mouth until the words melt around my teeth. Exquisite, lyrical, deeply embedded in a landscape so exotic to me I could not get enough. It's a medieval Russian fever-dream. Everyone should read Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen because then you can enjoy the memes. The book I want to be buried with The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. The first book I remember reading by myself The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. (At an age where half the words in each sentence were too difficult for me and I just slogged my way through it by inference because I knew there was magic waiting for me in those pages. I was also the kid who checked the back of her wardrobe – just in case.) The book I pretend I've read Michael King's The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand because Rachael King is a dear friend and I don't want her to be mad with me. Fiction or Nonfiction Fiction, obviously, because reality is blergh. The book that made me cry The Lord of the Rings, at every re-read: when (spoiler alert) Gandalf dies. The book that made me laugh Jaclyn Moriarty's The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars (I was reading it aloud to my daughter and had to put it down because I was laughing so hard it brought tears to my eyes.) Greatest New Zealand book Hairy Maclary From Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd. Greatest New Zealand writer Elizabeth Knox. Best food memory from a book I know we've cancelled Neil Gaiman, and rightly so, but to this day I still think about the little slab of honey drizzled in jam in The Ocean At the End of the Lane that the little boy eats at the good witch's house after his demonic battle. I don't even think it would taste that nice but there's something about that description that's lodged itself in my synaptic highway. Best place to read Bed. What are you reading right now Physical Book: All Shall Mourn by Ellie Marney. Audio book: The Stand by Stephen King. The Lost Saint by Rachael Craw ($30, Allen & Unwin) is available to purchase through Unity Books. The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.
