Showcasing Innovation Winter Exhibitions Revitalising Retail Not Just About Boats CCCRC Wrap-up Policy Matters! March 2016 March Contents Museums Aotearoa

Eds Quarter 3 Te Tari o Ngã Whare Taonga o te Motu My favourite Thing 4 Is New Zealand’s independent peak professional organisation for museums and those who work in, or have an interest in, museums. Members include Message from the Board 5 museums, public art galleries, historical societies, science centres, people who work within these institutions and individuals connected or associated with Policy Matters! 6 arts, culture and heritage in New Zealand. Our vision is to raise the profile, strengthen the preformance and increase the value of museums and galleries Staff Changes 7 to their stakeholders and the community

Showcasing Innovation 8 Contact Details Winter Exhibitions 9 Level 8, 104 The Terrace, Wellington 6011 PO Box 10-928, Wellington 6143 Revitalising Retail 10 Tel: 04 499 1313 Fax: 04 499 6313 Not Just About Boats 12 Email: [email protected] Web: www.museumsaotearoa.org.nz Museum Profile – Malcolm Smith Gallery 14 Contributions Associate Profile – Workshop e 15 We welcome article suggestions and contributions. For enquiries about contributing to MAQ please contact us at [email protected]. The Man from Matakohe 16 Staff A Series of Curated Spaces 18 Phillipa Tocker – Executive Director Talei Langley – Membership Services Manager CCCRC Wrap-up 19 Advertising Enquiries about advertising in this publication, or mailing flyers, should be addressed to the Museums Aotearoa office

Next issue June 2016: Relevance

Disclaimer Cover Images The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Museums Main: Aotearoa Fiona Pardington, Still Life with albatross feathers, pounamu and coral hearts 2014, archival inkjet print, gesso and acrylic polymer on canvas. Courtesy of ISSN 1177-7362 the artist and Starkwhite.

Lower: Members from Kaiapoi Museum working with collections in the CCCRC during a National Services Te Paerangi Textile Expert Knowledge Exchange.

2 MAQ March 2016 EDs Quarter

2016 has begun for MA with detailed planning for the MA16 Museums A strong theme running through the day was that Australasia conference in in May. Our first joint conference with today's – and tomorrow's – tourists are not passive Museums Australia has brought both challenges and opportunities. The consumers. Both international and domestic challenges for two organisations with many members and few staff are in travellers want to be engaged personally, to feel bringing together all our enthusiastic ideas and expertise, while ensuring that welcomed wherever they visit, and are socially timely decisions are made and followed through. With over 200 proposals active – they will share their experience not only responding to our Call For Papers, the sheer logistics have taken far more with friends and family, but also more widely via time than we anticipated. social media and websites like TripAdvisor.

The opportunities created by bringing together museum and gallery Two summit themes really struck me as relevant to professionals, academics and experts from New Zealand, Australia and beyond museums and galleries. The first is that our attitude right here in Auckland are numerous. The conference programme committee to customer (ie visitor) service is sometimes not up has adjusted the formats of sessions to include as many perspectives as to scratch, especially in the regions. There was talk possible, as well as plenty of time for interaction and debate with and among of 'zombie towns', where we need to pick up the presenters. We want to make sure these conversations are just the beginning challenge of training young people and enthusing of new connections and evolving thinking. service staff. As one panellist commented, we may think our customer service is 'casual', but that is Another MA16 opportunity is bringing a large contingent of interested actually 'not very good'. people to Auckland. Not only will we be talking about the future possibilities of professional practice and institutional relevance, but also providing a The other is the importance of communicating catalyst for experiencing first hand the ways that Auckland's museums, values and earning a 'social licence to operate'. galleries and other cultural institutions are addressing them. Visitors want to be engaged, and feel a personal connection – something that galleries and So we are unashamedly promoting Auckland. This issue of MAQ looks at museums are ideally placed to offer. We also need recent innovation and projects at several local museums – a taste of what you to earn the confidence of our communities to can see for yourself when you come to Auckland for MA16. express those local and national values, and tell our stories sustainably and with authenticity. Promoting Auckland also plays to the tourism aspect of our institutions. While we know the value of our sector is a complex amalgam of factors, it Many of the summit presentations can be is our contribution to tourism and its economic importance which is most downloaded from the TIANZ website. I encourage easily understood by stakeholders – especially local councils. you to think about how these challenges affect each and every one of us. Late last year I attended the National Tourism Summit in Wellington. This annual gathering was addressed enthusiastically by Minister of Tourism, Hon Phillipa Tocker Simon Bridges, who said that "tourism is going gang-busters!": Executive Director, Museums Aotearoa

• official figures show tourism is worth nearly $30bn pa • domestic is now recalculated at $18bn, outstripping international • the rate of tourism growth is currently ahead of the path to the Tourism references 2025 target of $41bn www.nationaltourismsummit.co.nz/speaker-bios But the Minister also noted challenges brought about by rapid tourism www.tianz.org.nz growth, and by world economic factors. Expert presenters had solid research to help us understand these challenges and our markets better. Some of the challenges include:

• need to grow the workforce by 40% by 2025 • seasonality • infrastructure limitations, especially accommodation and transport • poor attitudes to customer service

2016 March MAQ 3 My Favouite Thing

The title of this article troubles me and fills me with slight unease with a dash of anxiety. 'My Favourite Thing'. I think it is the fear of committing with such decisiveness to one collection item which does not feel honest and I start to feel overwhelmed but I have to choose.

Katherine Airini Vane (1891-1965) Pohutukawa in Bloom, 1935, Gouache on paper.

Recently this work has struck a chord with me. Maybe it is the back to work blues, a slight melancholy, longing to be back amongst the summer holidays which have now passed. Pohutukawa in bloom has an undertone – a calling to go back to the coastal shore. It is subtle at first then it becomes a memory which turns to nostalgia, a yearning to be sheltered under the tree, that tree which will shelter you from our sharp summer sun. While you are there you can taste the strong sea air it fills you up. Then to be at Vane’s feet and feel the breeze of her clean air depiction, the solitary Pohutukawa. You need to squint your eyes into the reflective white bark bleached from the glinting sun, as you blink away the sand as the breeze flicks it in your eyes. To be then soothed by the vibrant red flower bloom and intense summer light warms your face.

This is my romanticised melancholia of a holiday which has passed…

Katherine (Kitty) Airini Mair was born in Katherine Airini Vane (1891-1965), Pohutukawa in Bloom, 1935, Gouache on paper. Wainuiomata and lived in Wellington before Aigantighe Art Gallery Collection, Estate of James W Grant in 1970. leaving to study at the Slade School of Art in London prior to World War I. In 1914 she joined and reinforced at the time of Vane’s painting. Why does it strike a chord the Red Cross and met her future husband, the now? A safe, obvious or humble choice, one that recites a comforting generic Honourable Ralph Vane, in Malta where she was summer daydream? Or is it just my back to work blues that incites a romantic a nurse aide during the war. longing? Will other people's interpretations think this painting is mediocre, not revolutionary enough? Our modern stimuli, the overwhelming saturation Vane returned to New Zealand in the 1930s where of New Zealand’s consumer culture now surround a typical kiwi Christmas. she held solo and joint exhibitions. The appreciation of uncertainty as a muse, and as a guide, a willingness to take Vane was known to paint on both sides of the a chance, and my anxiety has passed as I know there will be more summer canvas or paper, and this painting has another scene days ahead. Pohutukawa in Bloom makes me appreciate my classic experience on its reverse. Her images of the brightly coloured and gives me a place of belonging to a national sense of place. I am pleased to pōhutakawa tree in full bloom are among her most have called Katherine Airini Vane Pohutukawa in Bloom my favourite thing popular. The red and green of the pōhutakawa and well maybe just for now. its December flowering is a well known saturated symbol which holds a heavy national significance. Cara Fitzgerald This identity of New Zealand was being built Gallery Manager, Aigantighe Art Gallery

4 MAQ March 2016 Message from the Board

A few weeks ago, as part of a long-term science How wrong I was! learning project, the Otago Museum purchased a My first attempts were terrible. The images were overexposed with weird ‘newton’s rings’ effects new ‘toy’, namely a narrow band solar telescope. and poor focus. It seemed that despite years of practice on the night sky, I was destined never The telescope was acquired to support the ‘Lab in to get a depiction of our nearest star of which I could be proud. a box’ project. Rather than giving up, I decided to figure out what Lab in a Box was conceived by Prof. Peter Dearden at the University of I was doing wrong and keep plugging away at the Otago and was funded by an award from the MBIE’s Unlocking Curious problem. Of course the internet was my friend, and Minds scheme. It’s a mobile science laboratory, built in a 20 foot shipping googling narrow band solar photography provided container which can be transported to communities all over New Zealand. lots of solutions to the challenge I faced. But It comes fully equipped with both science ‘gear’ and people – usually simply reading was not enough; despite following one of the Museum’s science communication team. If you’re lucky you the advice I gleaned from online experts, I still had might also get a personal visit from researchers, students or professors to experiment with the equipment and tinker with from around New Zealand. It’s a very cool project, and the Museum is camera settings to get a decent picture. In the delighted to help support it. end. It took me pretty much two weeks of solid experimentation in my spare time on sunny days Back to the solar telescope. When not in use by the Lab in a Box team, on to obtain the picture you see in this article. the frequent sunny days we have in Dunedin, the telescope is also employed to give Museum visitors beautiful (and safe) views of the active regions of the Over the past weeks I have been on an amazing sun in the red light of Hydrogen gas. learning journey. I've learned that the best pictures of the sun are taken in the early morning, After a few days of excited gawping through the new telescope, and because I when Earth's atmosphere is least turbulent. I've am a keen astro-photographer, I thought I'd have a bash at trying to use this discovered how to extract a single channel in amazing piece of equipment to get some photographs of the sun. I thought Photoshop and found out how to compress the it would be a relatively easy task to record the amazing solar details you dynamic range of an image in order to create a could see visually, especially for someone like me who has a fair amount of picture that shows both dim solar prominences experience taking pictures of the night sky. and bright solar disk. In short, what I thought was a ‘simple’ task, to capture a picture of the sun has turned out to be a complex problem which in order to solve it, has provided me with new skills that will certainly help me at home and at work on other projects.

The moral of the story, of course, is that it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. No matter how old we are (and having just turned 50 I am now feeling very old), we should embrace even what seem like the simplest challenges we face since you never know when you may be able to use the knowledge and skills you gain in solving them.

Ian Griffin Director, Otago Museum

Sun

2016 March MAQ 5 Policy Matters!

How do we prove the value of public museums A patchy evidence base makes it difficult to advocate nationally. MA needs and art galleries? robust data to support positive messages to local and central government as well as the general public. Our stakeholders need to be confident that This is a constant challenge – locally, nationally the taxes and rates that fund our museums and galleries are having positive and internationally. It is especially important that outcomes and returning value. we offer positive and robust information in this local council election year. There is a lot of information and research out there. Late last year Auckland University's Creative Thinking Project hosted a fascinating workshop At a local level, some institutions are making and seminar with Jonothan Neelands, one of the authors of The Warwick concerted efforts to ensure that they are 'in the face' Commission's report Enriching Britain. This project synthesised a huge of their councils and communities in a good way. amount of research, evidence it used to describe a cultural and creative Tairawhiti Museum has created an infographic industries 'ecosystem' in which all kinds of enterprise – from public review of 2015, using a simple free online tool. institutions through to commercial companies and individuals – form an It shows data such as visitation, funding sources interconnected system. By proving that 'the sum is greater than the parts and and exhibition programmes in an easily digested each part makes its contribution to the whole', the report argues that cutting format, including the fact that they made 12,000 funding to public institutions will also stifle commercial activity. cups of coffee! Christchurch Art Gallery has been regularly reporting 'by the numbers' both direct to Recently Te Papa hosted an Australasian Visitor Research Forum, a day in their council, and in their Bulletin for several years. which about 50 people from museums, galleries, zoos, outdoor amenities, universities and research agencies gathered to share perspectives and This is public information, and presenting it experience on understanding visitors. Another recent theory/practice is not difficult. Such facts and figures should symposium in Wellington explored research into intercultural dialogue and be collected and known to everyone who is understanding generated through international exhibition exchange. The responsible for managing or governing a museum importance of robust data came through in both these forums. or gallery. Yet we find that an alarming number of our members are unable to answer our museum Museums Aotearoa currently collects institutional and visitation data. We sector survey questions. are running our annual National Visitor Survey in February/March. This standardised methodology offers statistically reliable data to participating museums, which can then be used and viewed against the national aggregate. MA's Museum Sector Survey articulates the overall shape and size of the sector, the most recent report can be downloaded from our website.

But this is not enough. Current sector data is not complete, nor is it presented in targeted or palatable ways. We know that other agencies collect relevant information, including tourism, arts, and local councils.

MA and Local Government NZ are currently working on bringing together a range of voices and data to help quantify and articulate the value of museums and cultural institutions. In this council election year, we have added urgency and some excellent opportunities to advocate.

I am looking forward to working in collaboration with colleagues and experts from government, museums, universities and related agencies to ensure we have robust targeted evidence to prove our value.

Phillipa Tocker Executive Director, Museums Aotearoa

References

MA Museum Sector Survey www.museumsaotearoa.org.nz/research Tairawhiti Museum 2015 infographic https://magic.piktochart.com/output/10220456-tairawhiti-museum-2015 Enriching Britain, The Warwick Commission, 2015 www2.warwick.ac.uk/research/warwickcommission/futureculture/ Detail of Tairawhiti Museum's 2015 infographic

6 MAQ March 2016 Staff Happenings

MOTAT has welcomed Jade Irons as Partnership Manager. Jade has recently It's all change at Stratford's Percy Thompson returned from the UK, where she worked as Corporate Partnership Manager Gallery. Rhonda Bunyan has taken over as at the Royal British Legion. Rebecca Britt will join MOTAT's Exhibition director from Maree Wilson, who has stepped Team as Interpretation Manager in March. Rebecca has an extensive down to concentrate on her own art, and returning exhibition and collections experience, most recently as senior curator at the Stratford local Monique Dodunski is the new Australian War Memorial. gallery assistant, replacing Caroline Bennett who has moved to Hawke's Bay. Auckland Museum will this month farewell Stacey Reed, Executive Assistant to Director Roy Clare, as she leaves for overseas adventures. Frank Stark, formerly CE at the Film Archive (now Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision), takes up the Heather Harris has taken up the new role of Chief Operating Officer position of Director at Whanganui Regional (COO) at Auckland Museum. Heather has a varied background in NZ Museum in March. Trade & Enterprise, Auckland Council, the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance, Auckland Transition Agency and has also worked as a senior Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision has confirmed lawyer and a New Zealand diplomat. Rebecca Elvy as CE. Rebecca was appointed acting CE in March 2015, coming from various Rhonda Paku left her role as Head of Matauranga Māori at Te Papa in government positions in Education, Treasury and December to take up the role of Kaihautu at Statistics NZ. Rhonda will stay State Services Commission. on the MA Board at least until the AGM in May. Ashburton Museum is farewelling Michael Te Papa has appointed Dale Bailey as Associate Director, Collections, Hanrahan who retires this month after seeing the Research & Engagement. Dale was acting in this position for the latter museum through its move and redevelopment in part of 2015, and comes from a career in teaching and most recently the the Ashburton Art Gallery & Heritage Centre. Education Review Office, as well as governance roles in the museum sector. Tanya Robinson is returning to New Zealand Scott McKay has been appointed Visitor Insights Adviser. from a stint in Australia to take up the position of Director. Jessica Mio, formerly at Aigantighe Art Gallery, is now art curator at MTG Hawke's Bay. Bruce Chapman, CE at Heritage New Zealand (formerly NZ Historic Places Trust) for the last ten year, stepped down at the end of February.

2016 March MAQ 7 Showcasing Innovation

Visitors to The Idea Collective will get a kick out of creating their own sound and light show on the ‘Titania’ light harp. This touch-free interface generates music and triggers a light display in response to movement. The mysteries of augmented reality can be explored in an interactive installation designed by leading Kiwi innovator, Sir Ian Taylor. A dome like structure named The Bubble, houses a pop-up video arcade where guests can trial computer games created by independent developers from Auckland.

The installation features a sound and motion The Idea Collective at MOTAT responsive bridge, a cinema area and a Makerspace office for ‘innovators-in-residence’. Showcasing Innovation at ‘The Idea Collective’ The New Zealand Game Developers Association (NZGDA) is currently based here and visitors The Idea Collective is an artistic collaborative installation which recently to The Idea Collective are invited to interact with opened at MOTAT. It celebrates New Zealand’s vibrant innovation culture the resident developers and watch them while by bringing together a diverse set of visionaries, artists, designers and they work. technologists. Together they have created a range of exciting displays and experiences. As part of a nationwide network of volunteer-led coding clubs, MOTAT has established the Code@ The pop-up, modular installation showcases Kiwi innovation across a variety MOTAT club where Kiwi kids come together to of endeavours. It consists of five themed pavilions inhabited by forward- learn how to create their own games, animations thinking businesses or groups telling their innovation story. They have each and apps. Like all Code Clubs, it's free to attend, been paired with local artists to produce a creative interpretation of what and runs once a week after school. Here volunteers they do. from the programming industry provide one- on-one support to guide children through the Those currently featured in this installation are: Eat My Lunch (a brilliant challenges of learning coding languages. example of social innovation), Think & Shift (design innovation), Hivemind (technology innovation), Mohiomap (digital innovation) and Generation The Idea Collective invites open conversation about Zero (environmental innovation). Several of these were named as winners and what innovation means and what the future finalists in the NZ Innovators Awards 2015 as well as the NZI Sustainable holds. During Auckland City’s ‘Tech Week’ from Business Network Awards. The artists who worked alongside the innovators 16 to 21 May, the Museum will use this multi- include: Chris Berthelsen, Dan Blanshard, Brogen Averill, Daniel Kamp, and dimensional creative space to host demonstrations Ross Liew. and workshops covering subjects such as robotics, 3D printing, building your own computer, coding Digital Experience Coordinator at MOTAT and project lead for The Idea and game development. Collective, Luke Diggins, says “This is not a conventional museum exhibition, but rather a dynamic open space where visitors and participants can explore Rather than being a static project, The Idea and discuss ideas around innovation, technology, and creativity.” Collective will evolve and develop over time to become a focal point for discussing ideas The Idea Collective is something completely different to anything MOTAT and innovation. It is designed to inspire future has produced in the past. It has a contemporary industrial design which generations of Kiwis by informing visitors incorporates large murals by well-known artists, Aaron Glasson and Celeste and encouraging them to engage with the Byers, Cinzah Merkens and DSide/Milarky. Each of these impressive innovation process. artworks depicts aspects of the creative processes involved with innovation, from the initial inspiration through to the design and production phases. In The exhibition is open at MOTAT from 10am – March, The Idea Collective will be inviting four internationally renowned 5pm. Entry is included in the MOTAT general mural artists to paint additional innovation-themed murals at the Museum. admission fee. See The Idea Collective website for further details: www.ideacollective.org.nz Luke Diggins explains why creative expression is such a key focus for The Idea Collective, “Educators, artists and scientists have come to recognise Vanessa Hefer the importance of blending the arts and sciences for the enrichment of the Communications Advisor, MOTAT learning process. This supports MOTAT’s aim to incorporate elements of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths (STEAM) into all the experiences we offer. The Idea Collective definitely puts the ‘A’ into STEAM!”

8 MAQ March 2016 Winter Exhibitions

Winter exhibitions at Auckland ‘The exhibition is divided thematically rather than chronologically to play on the ways that Fiona’s work upsets and arrests the experience of time. No Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki previous exhibition has attempted to work across her practice in this way,’ he says. The power and potency of photography is revealed in Fiona Pardington: A Beautiful Hesitation which Pardington’s recent still life photographs include objects salvaged from beaches, is currently on at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o riverbeds second-hand stores and the side of the road, all with deep personal Tāmaki until 19 June 2016. and cultural meanings. This re-claiming of objects and images runs throughout her work – the One Night of Love series re-presents photographs of female nudes A Beautiful Hesitation is the first comprehensive taken from proof sheets destined for soft-core magazines and the medical suite survey of works by Fiona Pardington. It was first series re-photographs images of disease from medical textbooks. In all of her exhibited at late last year works, the personal and political are forcefully intertwined. and was received with rave reviews by visitors and critics alike. ‘This exhibition continues Auckland Art Gallery’s focus on in-depth projects by New Zealand contemporary artists,’ says Devenport. Complex, rich and darkly romantic, the free exhibition spans 30 years of Pardington’s practice Coinciding with A Beautiful Hesitation is a showcase of photography by early in a collection of more than 100 photographs. It 20th century artist: Leonnard Casbolt Photography: From Soft Focus to Sharp conveys key concerns that have shaped the artist’s Vision on until 21 August. celebrated work. Lennard Casbolt was a pioneering practitioner of Pictorialism, a photographic Auckland Art Gallery Director Rhana Devenport style that mirrors the effects of painting through dramatic use of light and says A Beautiful Hesitation will give visitors a deep composition, and via the evocation of mood. insight into Pardington’s powerful photography. This selection of photographs conveys the artist's life's work depicting his role ‘This exquisite exhibition offers a unique at the forefront of art photography in post-WWI New Zealand. The influence opportunity to explore Fiona’s multi-layered and of modern art practices on Casbolt can be seen throughout From Soft Focus to fascinating body of work,’ she says. Sharp Vision, as his early painterly style gave way to photographs whose focus is sharper and whose subjects are urban. This exhibition showcases Casbolt’s Pardington’s early works, including intimate long artistic career as it was influenced by dramatic shifts in taste, technique family portraits, through to her photographs of hei and technology. tiki (pendants), life casts and historical specimens from museum collections, and her notable still-life Throughout the other three floors of the Gallery are exhibitions featuring images are all shown in A Beautiful Hesitation. local and international artists, from the Gallery’s collection of more than 16,000 artworks, as well as the extremely popular Māori portraits. The exhibition’s curator Aaron Lister from City Gallery Wellington has divided the exhibition The exhibition Adorned Histories features Māori portraits by Gottfried into four themes: Flesh, Becoming, A Language Lindauer (1839-1926), one of New Zealand's leading portrait painters, and of Skulls and Still Life. is open at the Gallery until 25 September.

Māori have always communicated a sense of personal expression and status through body adornment practices. The Māori portraits by Lindauer are a stunning reminder of this rich history in Aotearoa New Zealand. From hand-held weapons such as mere pounamu, wahaika, pātītī and taiaha, to the body adorned with huia feathers, hei tiki, kuru and mako (shark) ear lashings, this exhibition shows the breadth of Māori adornment histories through historical Māori objects and as masterfully captured by Gottfried Lindauer.

In late October the Gallery will be showing an exhibition of more than 100 Gottfried Lindauer works, including the entire Henry Partridge collection, in one of the largest exhibitions of original Māori Portraits to be seen in the country.

Fiona Pardington, Still Life with waterlilies, dragon fruit and Sphyx, Olivia Boswell Ripiro 2014, inkjet print. Courtesy of the artist and Starkwhite Communications Officer, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki

2016 March MAQ 9 Revitalising Retail

A vital part of the customer experience Regardless of whether we come from war memorial museums, art museums, science museums, or encyclopedic museums, we all share one thing: an increasing requirement to do more – on less and less budget. The goal for us all is to become more sustainable.

In its heyday, Auckland Museum’s store had been a destination retail operation. Over time it had lost its way. A second store had been established, both were heavily staffed, with outdated fit-outs, and stock was neither unique nor distinctive. No online presence meant customers had no access to Atrium Store 2013 (before) the store after hours or from a distance. Not only were we out of step with our customer base, we were out of step with retail in general. Faced with these challenges, in 2011 Auckland War Memorial Museum recognized the need for a more strategic approach to its commercial retail offer. Identify your marketplace To revitalise the retail offering we needed to understand the market place we were competing in. It’s our view that museums operate in the competitive leisure market. We see our competitors not as other museums. Rather they are other leisure activities – those activities which compete for a slice of our customers’ spare time - be that catching a movie, watching the kids play Saturday sport or going to the mall. Regardless Grand Foyer Store Interior (before) of whether your visitor pays an entry fee they are CHOOSING to spend their leisure time with you. crucial question for us was who were we missing? Who were our potential They make an ACTIVE CHOICE to experience customers? Why weren’t they visiting? What were the barriers to getting your exhibition or purchase from your store. them to shop with us?

The most successful commercial retail brands The feedback was brutal. We learned that our customers didn’t feel welcomed worldwide have a clearly identified customer base. in a store where product was ‘behind glass’. The shop felt too much like a museum itself. Customers didn’t feel encouraged to touch, feel or purchase. They target this most lucrative market with Mums with pushchairs were nervous about moving through the space. For simplified purchasing and streamlined marketing. Aucklanders, there was little to buy that interested them. That was mission A challenge for us as museums is that as social critical – our data showed that 60% of our museum customer base contributed businesses we wish to touch EVERY body who only 20% of the revenue. We were missing a whole market. Equally, 40% of reflects the demographics of the communities we Auckland Museum visitors (our tourists) generated 80% of retail revenue. operate in. The challenges of retailing within a That left us very dependent on a smaller and highly seasonal group of museum are very real! customers to deliver the lion’s share of our revenue. Understand your Customer A step change It’s important to understand your customers – We acknowledged our store needed to be repositioned to provide an ‘on who they are, how often they visit, why and what brand’ visitor experience. It needed to be accessible and welcoming to both they spend while onsite. We tackled this three local and international visitors. Above all it had to be authentic - both in its ways. We talked to our customers, our people on products and its service. the shop floor and pulled our sales data apart. The

10 MAQ March 2016 1. Creating an environment ‘fit’ to shop in

In order to put our plan into action, the decision was made to move from two stores to one modern and more welcoming shop rebranding it ‘The Museum Store’.

We reviewed existing staffing levels. Full time positions were reduced and a greater number of permanent part-time staff established in order to ensure a fully staffed store during peak periods. This allowed us the flexibility of having casual staff during the peak summer season.

We wanted to create a space where customers felt comfortable and not alienated by items that were too precious that they felt they couldn’t touch. Museum Store Interior This required refurbishment of the dark and dated Grand Foyer Store. Larger spaces for mobility limited customers and parents with pushchairs, purpose built lighting, new display cabinets and new signage were introduced. The instore playlist of New Zealand artists has added new life to the previously sedate retail environment. A more High Street style of merchandising has created a cohesive story throughout.

2. Products people want to purchase

The Museum Store is now truly a curated shopping experience. The main focus is that products are inspired by our collections, Tāmaki Makarau and Aotearoa. Everything in the store relates back to the museum and where possible, is made by local artists and comes from local businesses. Their Museum Store Interior stories are told through artist profiles in store and provided to customers to take away with their The Results purchases. At the end of the 14/15 year with one year of full operation under our belt, The product range was diversified to cover we delivered a healthy surplus. a variety of price points to suit all budgets, without compromising quality or sacrificing our 18 months on, the results continue to climb integrity. New categories such as homeware were • Operating surplus up 34% introduced to appeal to the local market. An • Conversion rate increased by 17% online store was developed • Visitation to store up 18% • Margin increased by 12% 3. Our People The right strategy, the right people - the right result. Retail revitalised. On-floor coaching has ensured our people ‘live the brand’. They are friendly, welcoming and Megan McSweeney knowledgeable. They are passionate about their Director – Business, External Affairs and Tourism, Auckland Museum product, they know the artists and their work and they genuinely enjoy working together as a team http://store.aucklandmuseum.com in their new surroundings and within the broader context of the Museum.

2016 March MAQ 11 Not Just About Boats

Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival on Auckland Anniversary Weekend, which saw a full day of waka races held in the Maritime Museum basin on Auckland’s waterfront.

In 2016 the New Zealand Maritime Museum is “We are not just about boats,” he said, “we are always looking for new ways to broaden our focusing on diversifying its moving exhibitions horizons and incorporate different community groups while staying true to our roots.” and adding non-traditional subject matter with Included in that is the partnership with Te Toki an emphasis on community collaboration. Voyaging Trust, who own double-hulled ocean voyaging canoe/waka Haunui, which is berthed After a bumper spring period (Oct-Dec 2015), which saw a lift in patronage in the museum’s basin. Mr Lipanovich said the by 25 per cent on average across the same period the previous year, the museum is looking to expand that relationship by museum is not slowing down with several collaborative exhibitions and using Haunui as an educational tool; teaching youth events scheduled for 2016. about the history of the vessel and how to sail it.

The latest exhibition ‘At the Beach’ was a collaboration between New Zealand This year also marks the Royal New Zealand Navy’s Maritime Museum and The New Zealand Fashion Museum to produce a 75th anniversary. Events will be held throughout display of beach fashion from the past 100 years. The exhibition attracted a the year, culminating in a large celebration in new audience base and proved to be extremely popular, seeing a 72 per cent November. As part of that, the museum has spent increase in Auckland visitation and an 18 per cent increase in international the past four years restoring the motor launch visitation across the exhibition season. Nautilus. More than 100 years old, Nautilus was used during WWI as a launch on New Zealand’s The museum has also seen a significant jump in rankings on review site hospital ship MARAMA. Nautilus was gifted to TripAdvisor, moving up four places to number 14 on a list of 216 things to the museum in 2011 and after more than 30,000 do in Auckland in October 2015. hours of restoration work, performed by dedicated volunteers, she should be operational for the navy In January the museum also partnered with Auckland Tourism Events and events of Operation Neptune. Economic Development (ATEED), Ports of Auckland around the Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival on Auckland Anniversary Weekend, which saw a Within the museum from February 26 until full day of waka races held in the Maritime Museum basin on Auckland’s June 12, 2016 is ‘Once Upon An Ocean’, which waterfront. The anniversary weekend events proved popular and included tells stories of exploration, immigration and family events in the Viaduct carpark and inclusion in the SeePort Festival at imagination. The exhibition is a multi-media Queens Wharf. display created out of masking tape by artists Erica Duthie and Struan Ashby. The ideas contained in Museum director Vincent Lipanovich said the museum’s aim is to incorporate ‘Once Upon An Ocean’ grew from conversations more community based activities and exhibitions which encourage a more about stories and objects connected with the interactive experience for visitors. museum, and running through it are themes of

12 MAQ March 2016 immigration and how history and knowledge are shared and passed down through generations. The work is inspired by real people. In addition to the large central mural, the TapeArt duo have also run a series of workshops with the students of Papatoetoe Intermediate School and Western Springs College. Their work is also displayed in the gallery, along with a film capturing the process. As well as the murals, the exhibition also features an animated sequence on a gallery wall that captures the passing of time.

Museum curator Jaqui Knowles said the work with the schools was about helping the students with developing their identities and learning about the past.

“We also want to encourage the public to contribute their own ideas to the exhibition.”

“People can make their own flags which can be left as part of the exhibition or taken home,” she said.

Accompanying the exhibition is ‘Along the Peninsular’, a song commissioned by Wellington sound artist, Christine White. The song brings the experience to life with cheerful warmth and a sense of days gone by.

Following ‘Once Upon An Ocean’, the museum will work with The Roots, a South Auckland collective who aim to empower youth and encourage them to take pride in their community and environmental sustainability.

The Roots Collective has done several projects around Auckland in the past and work with schools to create gardens and furniture out of sustainable materials. The museum has created Running concurrently with the Roots exhibition, the museum will also house a partnership with the Roots and provided a smaller display called Dravuni: sivia yani na vunilagi – Beyond the Horizon. them with a venue for one of their projects. The The exhibition tells the stories of the small Fijian island of Dravuni and its project involves working with local youth in the people. The project will feature digital mapping, story-telling, illustration and Waitemata area and initiating a clean-up around the island’s relationship with the world, ocean and internet. The exhibition the Auckland coastal zone. The material collected aims to raise awareness of the importance of intergenerational knowledge will then be used to create a vessel, using the transmission, global impacts and environmental change. museum’s collection as inspiration. Looking towards the future Mr Lipanovich said the 2019 250th Anniversary The focus of the project is the problem of rubbish Celebrations of Captain Cook’s landing in New Zealand will be a huge in our oceans, specifically ‘The Great Pacific maritime date for both the country and the museum. Garbage Patch’. The idea is to raise awareness about the issue and affect social change with “It is an opportunity for us to talk about navigation, and the interaction visitor discussion and the contribution of ideas between Maori and the early European explorers and settlers.” and solutions to the ongoing problem. The exhibition will also include filmed interviews with For more information visit www.maritimemuseum.co.nz people who have been through the garbage patch, interactive objects, displays and a comment table Felicity Rookes where people can design their own solutions. Marketing and Communications Executive, NZ Maritime Museum

2016 March MAQ 13 Museum Profile

Malcolm Smith Gallery Harnessing a belief in the transformative power of art, and through a range of contemporary Opening Saturday 11 June 2016 art exhibitions which inspire and challenge its audiences, the Gallery will strive to encourage We’re delighted to announce that Malcolm Smith Gallery, a contemporary dialogue, foster creativity, and explore meaningful art space for the eastern suburbs of Auckland, will be opening in the idyllic new ideas with insight, imagination, and surrounds of Howick, June this year. The new Gallery, designed by Creative intelligence. In the Howick Ward, where the Spaces, is part of a creative cluster of operations at Uxbridge Arts and gallery is located, close to 40% of the total Culture, which also includes a theatre for live performances and cinema, and population identify with an Asian ethnic identity. numerous studios for courses in painting, pottery, jewellery, and more. As a location with one of the highest numbers of Asian peoples in New Zealand, Malcolm Smith The Gallery is named after the late local architect, community stalwart and Gallery aims to connect to a wide network of art founding member of Uxbridge in 1981. Architects are prone to envisioning institutions, practitioners and audiences around compelling futures and enjoy a particularly social role. It may even be said that the Asia-Pacific rim to show a leading example theirs is an intrinsically social art form. Malcolm Smith envisaged a centre for in shaping the success of Asian arts and cultural his hometown that would be a beacon for the art and ideas of their day. From practices in Aotearoa, New Zealand. the beginning, and even until his demise in 2010, Smith made a top priority of good architecture, and was involved in recommending building developments The Uxbridge redevelopment is a major project for Uxbridge. Once any alteration or improvement was accepted, Smith for Auckland Council’s Howick Local Board and was always to be found contributing to its execution, from erecting the first its community. Having commenced 8 June 2015, Crèche fence to the interior painting of the theatre. The Uxbridge complex, Malcolm Smith Gallery will open alongside a new as it stood before the commencement of the redevelopment last year, reflected café, meeting rooms, and studios as part of the Smith’s involvement in every room of every building. first stage in the redevelopment, with the theatre scheduled to re-open late 2016. With a nod to its namesake, the Gallery’s inaugural exhibition brings together various artists whose practice implicates architecture, including The Gallery is principally funded by Auckland remarkable mid-career New Zealand artists such as John Ward Knox and Council through the Howick Local Board, and is Jeremy Leatinu’u, recent graduates such as Claudia Dunes, and also those committed to working with the Board to help it artists like Samer Hatam and Julia Teale who’ve settled in the eastern suburbs meet the objectives of its annual and long-term of Auckland from as far and wide as Iraq and South Africa. This exhibition, plan in the area of arts and culture. The Gallery however, focuses not on architects or buildings; instead, it brings together also seeks external funding through governmental, artists whose use of and for architecture is rather subtle. Some artists bring civic or charitable bodies, individual patronage, or viewers to a discreet awareness of the spatio-temporal properties inherent in through sponsorship as appropriate for specific a site, whereas others explore the social missions of our built environments. projects. If you would like to add your name to The exhibition is concerned with those artworks which are deceptive in their a long list of remarkable individuals and patrons restraint, but where apparent simplicity or lightness of touch belies the works’ associated with Malcolm Smith Gallery, contact rigour. How can our encounter with art under the purview of architecture [email protected] lend itself to conscious living? How can Malcolm Smith Gallery lend itself as a ritual space for conscious communities? Balamohan Shingade Manager and Curator, Malcolm Smith Gallery An emboldened vision accompanies the redevelopment of Uxbridge, as the Malcolm Smith Gallery seeks synergies between the local and the global. www.malcolmsmithgallery.org.nz

Malcolm Smith Gallery

14 MAQ March 2016 Associate Profile – Workshop e

Workshop e - Designing and delivering unique experiences The Workshop e team is proud to deliver exhibition experiences which celebrate the objects and stories of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Working from its workshop and design studio in Newtown Wellington this design and production company works nationally and internationally and brings innovative and unique ideas to each project with focus on long-term care of objects and visitor engagement. Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds

The new Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds is an example of Workshop e’s ability to deliver a turn-key experience for the Waitangi National Trust. Work began in June 2014 with the exhibition opening as planned in February 2016.

The relationship is portrayed through stories and taonga that illustrate Waitangi – cultures and communities learning to live together. Visitors become part of this journey through the museum experience.

The concept has been designed for national and Air New Zealand 75 Years: Our nation. The World. Connected. international audiences. The exhibition has to sit comfortably with the local community as well as Whilst delivering Te Kōngahu, Workshop e has worked on two other the Trust’s vision that all NZ children should be significant projects, illustrating its ability to meet new challenges. International able to visit and be involved with this site. audiences will experience an exhibition which takes the WOW® brand on tour. This exhibition has been developed to fit into two 40 foot shipping Significant taonga on loan from major national containers that once installed comfortably fills a gallery of 700 square metres. collections sit in a newly developed display system. This provides high level security but The WOW® exhibition has toured venues in Australia and Honolulu on also considers the needs of the smaller museum its way to the first North American venue EMP in Seattle with Workshop team responsible for the running of the museum e managing the installation at each venue. A second exhibition will be exhibits post-opening. developed in 2016 to take the concept into Europe.

The majority of glazed cases are set on an Workshop e has also co-developed the Air New Zealand 75 Years: Our nation. electronic lifting system developed by Workshop The World. Connected. which opened at Te Papa and was further developed for e which enables a single person to make changes the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This exhibition will be on show in to the displays. Auckland until the 22 May 2016. In both venues visitor numbers have well exceeded venue expectations. The Workshop e team comprises 8 highly skilled staff and although this appears to be a small Want to know more? company it is joined by a network of direct suppliers Visit our website workshope.co.nz and support specialists for multidisciplinary and or call Az James or Jeff Brown on 04 380 0010 complex projects. The knowledge within this team allows for the successful pushing of boundaries to obtain desired results.

2016 March MAQ 15 The Man from Matakohe

Local museums in New Zealand usually reflect Reserve Bank, the national electricity grid and the hydro-electricity system, and elements of the the community in which they exist, telling the social welfare system. He also showed great ability in the politics of the possible, as ‘the man who gets local stories and explaining local history. things done’, ignoring party lines and taking up good ideas no matter which side of the political The Kauri Museum is no exception with a strong sense of community pride fence they came from. and identity contained within the walls. Matakohe was a typical small country settlement, but the success of the museum has more or less taken over the Coates was the oldest of seven children of a village, with most of the residents having a connection with the museum, pioneering farming family, which developed at one way or another. The Kauri Museum now includes the former Matakohe nearby Ruatuna (where his birthplace is in the school, post office and church, as well as all the village’s history, and much care of Heritage New Zealand), major sheep and more besides. The museum is one of Northland and New Zealand’s ‘must see’ cattle farms out of the scrubland they first settled visitor attractions, a firm favourite with young and old, as all the Five Star on. Teenage Gordon’s ability in ploughing with Reviews on TripAdvisor show. a team of bullocks might be seen a forerunner of his ability to lead his men in war ¬(he won So there’s a real interest in the special exhibition that The Kauri Museum is the Military Cross twice in World War One ‘for currently featuring. The Man From Matakohe looks at the life of a man who conspicuous gallantry’), lead his community in in many ways put Matakohe on the map, and played a significant part in the local and national politics, and eventually lead history of Northland and the whole of New Zealand for many years. the whole country, as Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and many other portfolios, and, although Born in Matakohe in February 1878, Gordon Coates was nearly the first in the political ‘Opposition’, a significant member New Zealand-born Prime Minister – he missed out by just 20 days, to of the War Cabinet in World War Two. He was become the second in May 1925. Many modern New Zealanders may not the first (and to date only) Prime Minister to be have heard of Coates, but he was a significant leader in war and peace, and fluent in Te Reo Māori. left a lasting legacy that underpins many things we take for granted – the The Man from Matakohe exhibition skilfully brings together a wonderful range of photos, including early movie newsreels, with family and personal objects from the collection of both The Kauri Museum and Heritage New Zealand. These are

Working through a day’s worth of paperwork when in office as Prime Minister. Image reproduced with kind permission from Alexander Turnbull Library

Gordon Coates talks with an engine driver as Minister of Public Works. While assuming this portfolio, he promoted the completion of three of New Zealand’s main trunk lines. Image reproduced with kind permission from Alexander Turnbull Library.

16 MAQ March 2016 used to illustrate and explain the complexities of family, military and political life, weaving a fascinating narrative from the complexity of a life lived to the full. Maps, diagrams and family trees are inserted where they can help the visitor understand something better.

Whilst the exhibition is complete in itself, there is more that can be explored after a visit. The significant Coates Memorial Church, opened in 1950, stands across the road from The Kauri Museum. A monument to Gordon Coates stands at the intersection of State Highways 1 and 12, just south of Brynderwyn Hill. Ruatuna homestead is available to visit only by appointment, but the rich farmland it stands in is readily apparent.

But a real treasure is the exhibition website www.kaurimuseum.co.nz/the- man-from-matakohe, which makes the exhibition experience available to a wider audience, with summaries of the exhibition contents, selected images and objects, details of principal family members, and more besides. I greatly enjoyed both my visits to the exhibition, but if you are unable to see it in person, then the website at least provides a wonderful introduction to this fascinating man. I heartily recommend it.

Stuart Park, FMANZ

Stuart Park, now retired and living in Northland, is a former Northland Manager Joseph Gordon Coates, Military Cross and bar served as the 21st for Heritage New Zealand, and a former Director of Auckland War Memorial Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. Image Museum. reproduced with kind permission from Alexander Turnbull Library.

Gordon Coates (far right) as Minister of Public Works on one of his trips of the provinces c 1921 . Image reproduced with kind permission from Alexander Turnbull Library

2016 March MAQ 17 A Series of Curated Spaces

What would happen if your galleries were not all Each space has been carefully planned and arranged by an artist, curator or collective. From contained within a single building? the more traditional curated spaces found at the WHMilbank Gallery and Quartz: Museum of We expect to find carefully curated spaces within a museum or gallery setting, Studio Ceramics, to a curated sculpture exhibition perhaps less so when it comes to an Artists Open Studios event where the at Bushy Park Sanctuary and the gloriously varied spaces are spread across a city. However, as someone with a background artist studio. working and volunteering in museums and galleries I can not help but find some similarities in the carefully prepared spaces being put together for the Having spent many years working in the arts, 2016 Artist Open Studios event in Whanganui. including almost thirty years as the director of The Sarjeant Gallery, Bill Milbank is a seasoned curator who now runs his own gallery. Milbank curates between ten and twelve shows per year, each exhibition generally involves more than one artist. The WHMilbank Gallery is housed in a historic building the front rooms of which hold a carefully curated gallery. If one ventures deeper into the building they are greeted by a fabulous array of artworks in a series of rooms that are used both for display and storage of artwork by more than thirty artists, including a huge collection of work by New Zealand artist Phillip Trusttum.

Established by practicing studio potter Rick Rudd Quartz, Museum of Studio Ceramics is WHMilbank Gallery also housed in a character filled building, with room upon room of curated collections spread across two levels. Housing a collection of more than 400 ceramic artworks, Quartz also hosts important artworks from private collections and an annual commissioned ceramic installation. Quartz is unique in that it is simultaneously a professionally presented, well curated museum and a practicing artists studio, giving the viewer a unique opportunity to see works in progress as well as completed pieces spanning Rudd’s career. These are shown in context along side works of other important New Zealand and international ceramic artists.

In addition to these traditional gallery spaces, 10 Green Bottles, 2012, Rick Rudd there are a vast number of carefully planned and presented studio spaces involved in the Artist Open Studios event. Although the studios are generally not prepared by a professional curator, each has been deliberately arranged in order to present a coherent visual story to viewers. Creating a string of curated spaces through the city of Whanganui, there is a certain likeness to the series of exhibition spaces found within the walls of a museum building where each new gallery presents a new narrative. Artist Open Studios Whanganui runs across the two weekends in the middle of March.

Serena Siegenthaler-Brown Event Facilitator, Artists Open Studios Whanganui Bedford Studios – Driftwood Sculptures and Street Art.

18 MAQ March 2016 CCCRC Wrap-up

At the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, we are not just committed to preserving military aviation history. In the wake of the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, the Museum played an important role in helping a number of organisations get back on their feet.

Just days after the earthquake, we opened our doors not only to visitors, but also to groups such as the IRD, Warren and Mahoney Architects, the Family and High Courts and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, who still use the Museum’s Aircraft Hall for performances, claiming that it has the best acoustics in town. Volunteers from the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel preparing the The good fortune of the Air Force Museum’s location away from the Chapel’s furniture for storage at the Air Force Museum through to devastated Central Business District not only brought essential services 2018, by which time the group hopes this iconic building will be knocking, but also our fellow cultural and heritage colleagues. In those early restored and open to the public. stages, the Air Force Museum made room within our own collection stores to help groups such as the Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA), the New Zealand Antarctic Society and Canterbury University’s College House. One of the larger groups that moved their artefacts into this space was Lyttelton Museum, whose building was flagged for demolition as soon as possible after the February 2011 earthquake. A co-ordinated team effort between the Lyttelton Volunteer Fire Brigade, Lyttelton Museum and the Air Force Museum saw artefacts rescued from the building, packed on the street and ferried to safe storage at the Air Force Museum.

Meanwhile, after 10 years of planning and despite the extraordinary post- quake situation, the Air Force Museum Trust Board decided to carry on and build the new exhibition hall and large object conservation workshops. Items being salvaged from Lyttelton Museum’s red stickered When this building was completed in January 2013, the Air Force Museum, building in 2011. in partnership with a number of organisations and museums across the country, opened the conservation workshop doors to heritage and cultural most of what I did was not the type of experience groups in need, under the banner ‘Canterbury Cultural Collections Recovery someone so early on in their career would Centre (CCCRC)’. normally have and for those opportunities I will be forever grateful. In the beginning, the half dozen ‘homeless’ groups dotted around the Air Force Museum were the first to move into the space, but after a few months this But like all good things, it must come to an end. number quickly grew to 38 organisations, largely through the power of word Since the middle of 2015 some of the CCCRC of mouth. In July 2013, I took on the role of Recovery Centre Intern (later participants started departing, happily finding Administrator), a position created to coordinate the day-to-day operation of new homes to preserve and showcase Canterbury’s the CCCRC. My main responsibility was to provide access and security to stories. During December, the remaining 17 the group’s collections as well as assist with the preventative conservation, groups moved into another hangar on site while cataloguing and documentation of artefacts. the Air Force Museum’s technical team finally transferred into their new space. Over the course of three years, the CCCRC provided storage, work spaces, some materials, workshops, technical support and guidance for groups who These last few groups will remain at the Air Force chose to move into the space. Along the way, I found that while artefacts Museum in a storage-only capacity until the end were being cleaned, catalogued and repackaged, unintentionally, we had also of 2018, by which time we hope everyone would provided a place for people to share, learn and exchange ideas in a safe and have found independent facilities to store, preserve non-judgemental environment. and present their legacy.

On reflection, my role as 'administrator' really morphed into a combination Moya Sheriff of collections technician, museum development officer, project manager, CCCRC Administrator, Air Force Museum human resources manager, personal trainer and motivator. Looking back,

2016 March MAQ 19 FACING THE FUTURE: LOCAL, GLOBAL AND PACIFIC POSSIBILITIES

15-19 May 2016, Auckland, New Zealand www.ma16.org.nz

Museums Aotearoa and Museums Australia invite you to our first joint conference. Crossing cultures and disciplines, the three day conference will explore the relevance and sustainability of museums and galleries now and in the future, and the ways we can be of social, cultural and ecological value. The conference will include a full program of events, activities and extended tours, with a strong emphasis on the cultures of the Asia-Pacific region.

Image credit: , in Pursuit of Venus [infected], 2015, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tämaki, gift of the Patrons of Auckland Art Gallery, 2014 (still from panoramic video interpretation of 1804 French scenic wallpaper Les Sauvages De La Mer Pacifique)