How spoilt are we?
Te Papa’s Arts Curators have kindly opened the Toi Art galleries early to the Friends. Take advantage of this special opportunity to get the low down on what’s changed, what’s the same and why it matters.
It’s not just an opportunity to look, the preview includes short curator-led floor talks. Get in quick to make sure you have the opportunity to admire the new and interesting perspectives of the Te Papa collection. This is a member only event and we are very grateful to Rebecca Rice and her team in allowing us to have a first look at this new space.

Having a first peek is something the Friends like to offer members. Another example of this is the monthly Reading Group event. Two one-hour sessions a month showcase the newest publications from Te Papa Press and Briony Hogg, owner of Marsden Books brings in a selection of her favourite publications to share with you. Marsden Books is an independent (indie) bookseller and provides an oasis for book lovers of all ages.

Sadly, books don’t get a lot of press in New Zealand. Nowhere is this more obvious than the buying habits of our bookshop chains. The Ockham book awards received scant coverage unless you read the newspaper or the Listener. I have heard of certain franchises not stocking the Ockham shortlist because apparently, they don’t sell. To quote the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Society of Authors, Jenny Nagle: “Imagine a weekly New Zealand book-show anywhere on a national agenda – what giddy heights we might aspire to“.

We are blessed in Wellington to have a number of indie bookshops who care about their readers and stock New Zealand books as well as mainstream publications. New Zealanders punch above our weight when it comes to reading books. If you cannot easily find the books that are written and often published in New Zealand I invite you to come along and hear what a professional indie book seller has to say.

Of course, I cannot go without mentioning our July treat. In partnership with the Arts Society we are hosting a lecture on Vermeer, a revered 17th century artist who has only 36 paintings attributed to him. He is best known for capturing the everyday, celebrating domestic life and his use of natural light.

Well known art critic and writer Laura Cummings summarises how she looks at pictures: “We see pictures in time and space. We cannot see them otherwise. They are fragments of our lives, moments of existence that may be as unremarkable as rain or as startling as a clap of thunder. Whatever we are that day, whatever is going on behind our eyes, or in the forest of our lives, is present in what we see.”
Vermeer captures what is going on behind his eyes, the minuscule, the ordinary place and extends the invitation to slip into the 17th century and observe everyday activities. Don’t miss this exceptional lecture, I look forward to seeing you there.