Kim O’loughlin presentation
NGV Melbourne
Wednesday 17 September, 2008
Talk
Before I begin my mihi to you I would like to acknowledge the traditional people in Melbourne -
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatau katoa. He mihi maioha tenei me te hari koa ki te tu ki mua I a koutou.
Ko Kim O’Loughlin toku ingoa. Hei kaimahi whiriwhiri korero tumatanui au mo te Whare te Toi o Tamaki. Kia ora.
Greetings to you all and thank you for inviting me to speak here today.
My name is Kim O’Loughlin and I am look after the public programmes at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o T?maki, New Zealand.
Firstly allow me to give you a brief introduction to New Zealand.
New Zealand (map)
New Zealand has a shorter human history than any other country. The precise date of settlement is a matter of debate, but current understanding is that the first arrivals came from East Polynesia in the 13th century. It was not until 1642 that Europeans became aware the country existed.
The original Polynesian settlers discovered the country on deliberate voyages of exploration, navigating by ocean currents and the winds and stars. The navigator credited in some traditions with discovering New Zealand is Kupe. Some time later the first small groups arrived from Polynesia. Now known as M?ori, these tribes did not identify themselves by a collective name until the arrival of Europeans when, to mark their distinction the name M?ori, meaning ‘ordinary’, came into use – more correctly tangata whenua – people of the land.
NZ between latitudes 34º and 47º south and is around 1600km in length and no wider than 300km, almost all the 167,000 sq.km of land mass is in the two main islands – imaginatively called the North Island and the South Island – by comparison Victoria is around 227 010 sq km
Our population is just under 4.3 million. Of that 42% live in the north island and of the entire population of 32% live in the greater Auckland region.
The main town centres are, in the north island – Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and in the south island Christchurch and Dunedin.
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Spread throughout the main cities and regional centres are 19 museums/art galleries, 26 non profit contemporary art spaces, 113 commercial contemporary art galleries and 14 foundations.
Arts funding in 2007 was around $7,836,990 and New Zealand exported art to the value of $35,151,000
Treaty of Waitangi (picture – Lindauer?) On 6 Febraury 1840 a treaty was signed with M?ori at Waitangi in the north or the north island. It then travelled throughout the country.
This treaty has become the founding document of the new Zealand. It provides an and guides much of the process and thinking for local and national governing bodies as well an annual holiday. (and its relationship to public programming)
Auckland The last census held in 2006 revealed that Auckland’s demographic had changed dramatically.
54% saw themselves as Europena or pakeha, Maori made up 8%, Pacific Islanders made up 13% and Asian had risen dramatically to 24% of the demographic.
Auckland Art Gallery
Heralded in 1888 as ‘the first permanent Art Gallery in the Dominion’, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o T?maki remains the largest art institution in New Zealand, with a collection numbering over 12,500 works. These include major holdings of New Zealand historic, modern and contemporary art, and outstanding works by M?ori and Pacific Island artists, as well as European painting, sculpture and print collections ranging in date from 1376 to the present day.
Up until earlier this year the Gallery occupied two buildings adjacent to Albert Park in central Auckland.
The Main Gallery (pictured)
The Main Gallery, designed by Melbourne architects John H. Grainger and Charles A. D’Ebro in ‘French Château style’ opened in 1887 as Auckland City’s Free Public Library and Municipal Offices.
The part of the building devoted to the Gallery opened a year later on 17 February 1888.
By its centenary the Art Gallery had taken over the entire building which was by now considerably enlarged, the City Offices and the Library having moved to new premises nearby.
The New Gallery (picture)
The New Gallery, across the road from the main building, opened in October 1995, due to the generosity of the Auckland Contemporary Art Trust. The building was originally designed as a telephone exchange and was extensively remodelled into contemporary art galleries by architects David Mitchell and Julie Stout.
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Redevelopment
A snapshot of what is planned for the $113 million development of Auckland Art Gallery, which was much overdue for essential restoration and for expansion.
The gallery is to undergo a multi-million dollar development ,which will increase its size and create better linkages with Albert Park, as well as undertake necessary earthquake-proofing and protection of an iconic heritage building.
The restoration and expansion of the building creates at least 50% cent more space for exhibitions.
My role
Public Programme and Education staff are part of the gallery’s Art and Access Department.
We work with curatorial and other staff to develop programmes, which provide interpretation of and access to exhibitions.
Specifically public programmes responds to exhibitions through talks, lectures, discussions, demonstrations performances and seminars to increase knowledge and understanding of art works and their contexts
The aim of my public programmes is to stimulate an interest in visual arts and culture.
My goal to is to design, in conjunction with the curators, events or programmes which will encourage the broadest possible range of audiences to engage with art and position the Gallery as a site for diverse cultural experiences.
Learning Opportunities – children & families
Sunday Kids / Kids Club
A low cost, low key, one hour drawing class at 2pm for primary school aged children run by the Gallery Guides began just before my arrival. These sessions were attracting quite low numbers.
Re designing the programme so that the practical activity responded to or was inspired by a specific artist’s work saw an immediate jump in attendance numbers to the point were we had to begin a booking system with a designated cut off.
We were trying to deal with session numbers into the mid 50s when before we were dealing with around 10 to 20 children.
The learning opportunities grew with the innovative addition of artist highlghts.
Exhibiting artists were invited to design a Sunday Kids programme with the assistance of our Gallery Guide team.
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This remains one of the most successful ways to get adults (aka the parents) to engage with contemporary art. The Sunday Kids children, in their usual fashion, quickly realise that they are being guided by a kindred soul and have no qualms responding to what is requested of them
Sunday Kids was relocated to 11am nearly three years ago in the belief that we would be able to retain our audience numbers throughout the summer months.
Interestingly the one group of parents put out by this relocation of session times was the one somehow not questioned before the new time was decided upon – we had always had the pleasure of a dedicated group of parents and children who attended their local church in the mornings and came to Kids Club in the afternoon – no longer.
Kids Club’s popularity has grown so much over the past two years that we now run two sessions at 11am and 2pm every Sunday except for the Santa Parade Sunday.
Bookings restricted to one week before the day and our cost has rise to $6 per child.
A noticeable change of the demographic of Kids club has been observed over the past two years with an increased participation by Asian families and most recetly by eastern European families
School holiday programmes are now a regular feature every week of the term break and three weeks over the summer period.
A two-hour non-sequential programme is offered with one programme designed for 5 to 8 year olds and the next programme for 9 to 12 year olds.
Big Day Art
· To give families a fantastic and unique experience at the Auckland Art Gallery
· To create an interest and knowledge of the exhibition that the Big Day Art is based around
· Encourage repeat visitation
· Create awareness around relocation to New Gallery and children’s programmes
We set a theme and encouraged children to come in make another world by coming in costume
The whole family is invited to our special day of events to mark the opening of our new exhibition MAKING WORLDS.
Guest appearances from the Sticky TV crew Sam, Erin and Drew,
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Performances by Madame Salami the Magician as well as something very special from spray can artist Otis Frizzell and a performance by the amazing sound artist Sam Morrison and
It is a day of inspired make believe so we want all the children to come dressed up as someone or something quite make believe.
We have lots of fun activity centres plus badge making, face painting throughout the day plus a dedicated space for families to have their lunch or relax or even make a mask.
Seizing the moment – Bridge to Terabithia - exhibition activity stations
The scenario is this
The Wellesley wing of the main gallery was due to close just prior to beginning of the September/October term break.
The film Bridge to Terabithia opens one week before the school holidays
It encourages children to visit art galleries – it encourages boys to let their imagination run free
No one tells me that Disney filmed the gallery visit sequence in our gallery.
I quickly contact the managers pleading for a delay of closure then contact marketing at Skycity cinemas.
A gallery team is quickly assembled with senior gallery guides, education and the gallery guides who assist with Kids Club and holday programmes and head off to preview the film.
From this we quickly design an activity, clear it with conservation, timetable staff, order materials for a free, drop-in-any-time activity centre and I arrange to work with Skycity on marketing a dual promotion of the film and art gallery.
It becomes an new learning opportunity for our non traditional visitor and a learning experience for us – just how we can pull creatively together in a short time and also how necessary it is to design a practical activity station beyond our holiday programme.
Actor Kate Butler reading from the book and discussion the making of the film
Babies and Art
It was the arrival of this fellow that caused a realisation for a programme for parents with young children.
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Our Mackelvie curator of International Art entusaistically offerd a lecture series with a focus on women.
An promotional campaign was begun with flyers being dropped off by yours truly to very baby shop, maternity wear shop, community centres.
It was hugely popular and was taken up by City gallery in Wellington and the Govett Brewster in New
Plymouth.
Muka Youth Print exhibition
This has become an national institution.
The Muka Print exhibition is one that may only be viewed by those aged between 5 to 18 years.
There is a display of original, limited edition, lithograph prints by 20
prominent artists New Zealand, Australian and international artists.
It is held of a weekend in December and brings in on average between 800 to 950 children and adults to the New Gallery.
This provides us with a new audience to make away the learning opportunities available at the galley on a Regular basis. We encourage parents to subscribe to receive our email newsletter, and distribute Kids Club flyers, On Show
We organise with Muka for a display of litho presses and associated printmaking tools and equipment as well a DVD that was produced by the arts programme on Muka.
Other events – matariki
Matariki(Pleiades) is a cluster of stars that Maori consider sacred and significant. They appear on the north-western horizon, just before dawn in late May/early June and they signal the completion of one year and the approach of another.
The Matariki cluster are food-bearing signs alerting us to change. We observe this change by celebrating through sharing food, showing gratitude to others, celebrating culture, remembering those who have passed on and honour the knowledge of our ancestors.
During Matariki we learn about our history, family and give respect to our sky and earth parents.
This event has grown hugely as a national time for celebration. There is even discussion that the Queen’s birthday in June be replaced/ renamed with Matariki.
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Here is one example of our programmes centred in the gallery that offers a very different learning experience
Riki Bennett (Ngati Pikiao, Te Arawa, and Ngati Porou) speaks on Maori traditional plant use, his exhibits include various food gathering traps / nets, and material that Maori in the past would have used in their daily lives. He will also demonstrate Toanga Puoro (traditional flutes).
We also offer archival films, weaving demonstrations and a Maori historian and our Indigineous Curator, M?ori art, Ngahiraka Mason received a moko (tattoo) in the gallery.
Heritage Festival
Originally Auckland Heritage Week it has grown into a two week major event.
As so often happens with art galleries the organisers did not see beyond the art on the walls in terms of what we could offer and were content just to use our auditorium,via our corporate events coordinator, to show archival films mid week
This was like a red rag to a bull for me and I quickly ensured what the art gallery could offer offer as a art related leaning experiences within the heritage context.
Firstly the films were relocated to our highest visitation days – Saturdays and Sundays which meant nearly four times more people experienced the silent films accompanied by a pianist.
More importantly we offered behind the scenes tours that took booked groups to painting conservation, painting storage, registration, the print room and the workshop. There were separate sessions offered to paper conservation with the theme of looking after your own works on paper as well as promoting the galley as a means for private conservation work.
It gave the general public a much better understanding and appreciation of the role of Auckland Art Gallery and its redevelopment plans.
Father’s day
Visit to the gallery tool shed aka the preps area. Another means of learning to a very marginal part of our audience.
NZ Music Month and In rehearsal
Every year since 2003 the gallery offers itself as a venue for New Zealand music – bands, musicians and singer songwriters are given space, time, assistance with set up, PA system and promotion all at no cost to perform at the gallery.
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We see this event as a parallel audience and a means of attracting the late teen to mid 20s visitor to an art gallery.
This programme brings in, over the month of May, around a 40% increase in our visitor numbers.
Surveys revealed that the majority of the NZ Music month attendees have not been to the gallery for a long while – usually a school excursion
Relocating the performances to our auditorium meant a less interrupted viewing experience.
And why have an auditorium lie vacant on Saturdays – so we offered to musicians as a live open rehearsal venue or CD launch venue at no cost.
To get to the auditorium meant a walk through the main ground floor gallery with excellent sight lines into the adjacent gallery spaces. So in one walk the music visitor would encounter five exhibition spaces offering Nz art form the early 19th century through to contemporary as well as the european collection
Exhibitions
Art & the 60s
This exhibition was to have been our swan song and we would close the main gallery in June 2006 – not so.
We finally closed the doors on Friday 29 February 2008 and received final clearance to commence building three weeks ago.
To the exhibition. How do place the art form this decade in context beyond the standard range of art talks.
Here are some of the programmes designed to enhance a learning experience around this exhibition.
The album covers, the television, the films of England from the 1960s all put that something extra into the exhibition and reminded so many people just how long ago the 60s were and what we regarded as cutting edge or even risqué forty years ago.
The cars typiefired Auckland Art gallery’s willingness to give something new a go.
Mty thought was nothing would trigger a 60s felling walking into the gallery like seeing some of the an overview of 60s industrial design with British cars - too many of the manufacturers now long gone.
Just listen to the list –
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Jaguar
Mini Minor
Aston Martin
Daimler
Vauxhall
Triumph
Rolls Royce and Bentley
Humber and Hillman
Wolseley
MG
Morris Minor
Zephyr
Rover
So these are some of the offerings in our public programme schedule.
Thank you for listening and I trust that you will visit me at Auckland Art Gallery in the near future…then
No reira, mihi mai, mihi atua, mihi mai
And to my public programme colleagues
Kia kaha
Be strong
