Reflections about New Zealand’s arts and culture strategy from Central and Eastern Europe.
New Zealand’s geographic isolation has shaped a distinctive national identity, one grounded in bicultural partnership, Pacific connections, and a growing awareness of our place in the wider world. But across Central and Eastern Europe, national and cultural identities have been forged under very different pressures. Over centuries, these regions have been ruled or influenced by the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, the Habsburgs, Germans, Ottomans, and the Soviet Union. Layered across these histories are the legacies of Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Nazism, communism, and capitalism, forces that have created deep cultural divisions as well as remarkable artistic and architectural achievements.
In this illustrated talk, Friends of Te Papa committee member Richard Norman explores how museums, artefacts, and built heritage across Europe reveal the complexities of identity in nations shaped by conflict, empire, and reinvention. Drawing on his recent river journey along the Danube, Richard will reflect on what these examples might offer New Zealand, particularly at a time when Te Papa and the wider cultural sector face financial constraints and strategic choices.
Richard has been a Friend of Te Papa since the museum opened in 1997 and a committee member since 2020. He has helped initiate Friends tours to sites of cultural significance across Aotearoa, including the upcoming Waikato tour focusing on conflict, reconciliation, and historical memory. With a PhD in public administration from Victoria University of Wellington and many years teaching in the School of Business and Government, Richard brings a thoughtful, research‑informed perspective to questions of cultural strategy and museum leadership.
This session blends travel stories, striking visuals, and reflective questions about how nations, including our own, use museums to express identity, navigate history, and imagine their futures. Members are warmly invited to bring their own experiences, whether from past travels or places of personal significance.
Image Credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary by Night” by Cost3l is licensed under CC BY 2.0.