As one of the most renowned experts on Colin McCahon’s work, Peter Simpson had the audience at ‘Hello’. He continued to hold everyone’s attention with his fascinating insights into how a mere four months touring USA could have such an impact on McCahon’s development as an artist.
Read more |November 4, 2019
Peter Wellings, Wellington ophthalmologist, who may well have gazed into the eyes of many in the audience, stood beside a large and compelling image of a beautiful garden. It was black and white. With a tap of his finger he saturated the image with colour. Aha. So began his lecture.
Read more |October 24, 2019
How could research undertaken on a piece of blank parchment help preserve the Treaty of Waitangi? Friends were intrigued to find out how from Peter Whitehead, National Library Collection Care Leader, Anna Whitehead
Read more |October 21, 2019
In their third presentation, ‘Old is New’, in the Friends’ Indian Textiles series, Shani Pillai and Joji Jacob took us on a visual extravaganza looking at how traditional embroidery techniques, crafts and textiles are being honoured and kept alive in a globalised world.
Read more |October 10, 2019
This was the second of Shani Pillai and Joji Jacob’s Textile Talks, timed to coincide with the WoW festival. We were to learn the many intricacies of the renowned and centuries-old Ikat weaving that is practised in India, much of South East Asia, Japan and other countries.
Read more |October 10, 2019
Indigo – the colour of sky and sea. Nil, Xigulite, Ali Zome, Aro; India, Japan, China, Nigeria, Vietnam and Indonesia. Cloth dyed with indigo has been traded around the globe over centuries to ‘dress us in blue’.
Read more |October 10, 2019
Twenty-three friends had a wonderful visit to Piera McArthur’s house and studio in Thorndon. After unexpected refreshments and a brief introduction from Piera about her life, we crossed the Mediterranean-like courtyard (filled with lemon trees in raised gardens with ceramic plates on the fence) to her painting studio.
Read more |October 8, 2019
William Cottrell delighted a large audience of Friends at Te Papa with his illustrated lecture on furniture making in New Zealand in the 19th and early 20th Century…
Read more |September 20, 2019
As a teenager, I sellotaped a stylized koru print saved from an art calendar to my wardrobe door. Its black and white ‘simple’ format intrigued me. Was the white in the foreground or the black? Or did they hold equal value? Cleverly it demanded closer inspection.
Read more |September 20, 2019
New Zealand’s isolation is the key to its staggering success in keeping so many endemic species. Admittedly many of these are microscopic, but we have around 25,000 endemic species (found only here) and another 25,000 which have managed to migrate to our neighbours in the Pacific
Read more |September 6, 2019
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