Join Jill Trevelyan and Chris Cane for a talk about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade collection of art and taonga.
Jill and Chris are kaitiaki for the collection, which includes some 2700 artworks and taonga, displayed in sixty embassies around the world.
Art is a vital tool in diplomacy – providing a welcoming environment, promoting the art, culture and identity of Aotearoa New Zealand, and providing a background to meetings and events.
Jill and Chris will talk about the history of the Ministry collection, which dates back to the 1940s, and show images of recent architectural projects featuring art and taonga, in London, Beijing, Port Vila, Dublin, Stockholm and Abu Dhabi.
Jill and Chris share the role of managing the Ministry art collection. Jill is a curator and writer whose books, published by Te Papa Press, include Rita Angus: An Artist’s Life (2008), Peter McLeavey: The Life and Times of a New Zealand Art Dealer (2013) and Robin White: Something is Happening Here (co-edited with Sarah Farrar and Nina Tonga, 2022). Chris is an artist and exhibition designer who has worked at the Manawatu Art Gallery (now Te Manawa), the National Art Gallery and the National Library Gallery.
Tickets include parking and a glass of wine
Feature: Kemera Wilson’s Marakihau, Abu Dhabi Embassy, United Arab Emirates. Image provided and reproduced courtesy of J. Trevelyan