ISCP TalkAugust 13, 2013
Curating Pacific Spaces: Recent Developments in Contemporary Art from the South Pacific
On August 13th, the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) presents the panel Curating Pacific Spaces: Recent Developments in Contemporary Art from the South Pacific. New Zealand is home to one of the largest populations of Pacific people in the world, however Indigenous Pacific artists and curators have, until recently, rarely been featured in the art history of this nation. Today a new generation of indigenous artists endeavor to have their contribution to the contemporary art scene of the South Pacific fully recognized.
Curators of contemporary Māori and Pacific Islander art, Reuben Friend and Shelley Jahnke, will present their findings on recent developments in contemporary Pacific Art, from trends in the private gallery scene to the latest generation of emerging millennial artists. Reuben Friend’s findings highlight the types of contemporary Pacific Art currently being exhibited in public galleries in New Zealand and how these works translate to an international audience. Shelley Jahnke’s research examines the dynamics of selling and positioning contemporary Māori and Pacific Art within New Zealand and international markets.
Reuben Friend is an artist and curator of Māori and Pākehā lineage. From 2009-2013, he worked as the Curator of Māori and Pacific Arts at City Gallery and recently relocated to Brisbane where he works as the Exhibition Manager at Logan Art Gallery while developing contemporary Pacific art projects on a freelance basis.
Shelley Jahnke is a Māori curator with experience working within public and commercial galleries in New Zealand. Prior to taking up the role of curator, at Te Manawa Art Gallery, Palmerston North, she worked exclusively for an Asian-based private international art collector and contributed to the curation and project management of the international touring show Roundabout. This ambitious three year project debuted at the City Gallery, Wellington in late 2010 and later the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 2012.
The presentation will be facilitated by ISCP artist-in-residence Shigeyuki Kihara.
