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Empowering creative education, museums, and arts strategies through modernised learning, innovative engagement, and collaborative excellence.
Background
My academic background includes completing both a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at Otago Polytechnic’s School of Art, followed by a PhD from Auckland University of Technology. My PhD research focused on 'micro' and 'small' regional museums, which constitute over 90% of the museum sector in New Zealand. My PhD research can be accessed here Performing DIY Museums in Murihiku: Decentralising the Museum (aut.ac.nz). This academic journey equipped me with a deep understanding of the cultural landscape and the challenges faced by institutions.
Currently, I serve as the Manager of Art & Design and the New Zealand Broadcasting School at Ara Institute of Canterbury. Prior to this role, I led Screen Arts programmes at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) and served as the Manager/Curator of the Ashburton Public Art Gallery from 2005 to 2011. During my time at art school, I also managed contemporary artist-run spaces including Satellite Gallery and Introspect Contemporary Art Space. Additionally, I contributed to Art New Zealand magazine for five years, writing reviews that enriched my perspective on our arts landscape.
Throughout my career, I have been actively involved in facilitating numerous arts projects in a variety of spaces and places, including the organisation of touring exhibitions. I have been engaged in the development of two major capital developments in the South Island - the Ashburton Art Public Art Gallery and the SIT Centre for Creative Industries Te Rau O Te Huia. In 2017 I was presented with an Otago Polytechnic Distinguished Alumni Award (https://www.op.ac.nz/about-us/alumni-and-friends/distinguished-alumni-awards-2017/), and in 2018 I was the recipient of SIT’s annual Excellence in Tertiary Teaching Award.
These experiences have provided me with a broad and practical understanding of the challenges and opportunities in our arts sector.
Creative Vocational Education
The challenges I can help you with:
Outdated Programmes and Insufficient Practical Learning: Tertiary creative programmes struggling with outdated curricula, insufficient hands-on learning opportunities, and marketing strategies that fail to clearly outline pathways to work.
Ineffective Advising and Alumni Engagement: A lack of effective advising and career mentoring for learners, along with limited promotion of, and engagement with successful alumni, is significantly hindering programme appeal and effectiveness.
Failure to Adapt to Online Education Competition: The growth of flexible, low-cost online education platforms poses significant competition for institutions that fail to adapt to technological and societal changes.
How I respond:
Revise and Modernise Learning: Revise and update programmes regularly to align with current industry developments and emerging technologies, and incorporate more hands-on learning opportunities, such as internships, workshops, and industry projects, to better prepare learners for the workforce.
Strengthen Advising and Alumni Engagement: Implement robust advising and career mentoring programmes to support learners, and actively promote successful alumni through marketing campaigns and networking events to enhance programme appeal and demonstrate real-world success pathways.
Embrace Technology and Flexible Learning: Invest in technology and adapt teaching methods to include online and hybrid learning options, ensuring flexibility and accessibility to compete with low-cost online education platforms and respond to the evolving needs of learners.
Museums & Galleries
The challenges I can help you with:
Unresponsive Exhibition Programmes and Insufficient Online Engagement: Museums often face challenges in increasing visitor numbers due to exhibition programs that fail to respond to diverse communities and contemporary interests, and an insufficient online presence to engage audiences remotely.
Accessibility Barriers and High Admission Fees: Physical and financial accessibility barriers, such as inadequate facilities for people with disabilities, poor public transportation options, and high admission fees, also deter visitors.
Lack of Community Engagement and Limited Visibility: A lack of responsive engagement with local communities and educational institutions, limited representation of diverse cultures and perspectives, and limited visibility and awareness further limit visitor numbers.
How I respond:
Enhance Exhibition Programmes and Online Engagement: Implement responsive and diverse exhibition programmes and enhance your museum's online presence to engage audiences remotely.
Improve Accessibility and Affordability: Improve physical and financial accessibility by upgrading facilities for people with disabilities, improving public transportation options, and reducing admission fees.
Strengthen Community Engagement and Visibility: Foster stronger community and educational connections through responsive engagement with local communities and institutions and increase visibility and representation of diverse cultures and perspectives.
Arts & Cultural Strategies
The challenges I can help you with:
Lack of Cohesive Implementation Plans: Arts strategies often suffer from the absence of a comprehensive implementation plan, resulting in fragmented efforts and a lack of clear direction. This hampers the ability to effectively coordinate and execute initiatives that align with the overall goals of the community.
Insufficient Collaborative Relationships: There is often a lack of strong relationships and partnerships among diverse organisations, preventing the pooling of resources and collaborative problem-solving. This isolation leads to duplicated efforts and missed opportunities for synergistic projects that could have a greater impact if done collectively.
Siloed Organisational Efforts: Due to insufficient collaboration and communication, organisations tend to operate in silos, focusing on their own objectives without considering the broader context or potential for cooperation. This fragmented approach limits the potential for achieving larger-scale, community-wide outcomes and reduces the overall effectiveness of arts strategies.
How I respond:
Develop Comprehensive Implementation Plans: Establish clear and cohesive implementation plans with specific goals, strategies, and timelines, aligned with the overall objectives of the arts community, and include mechanisms for regular evaluation and adjustment to ensure effective coordination and execution of initiatives.
Foster Inter-organisational Communication & Collaboration: Build and strengthen relationships among diverse organisations by promoting open communication and collaboration through forums, working groups, and networking events, facilitating the exchange of ideas, best practices, and resource sharing.
Encourage Collaborative Projects and Initiatives: Leverage the unique strengths of each organisation by encouraging collaborative projects and initiatives, leading to more impactful and synergistic outcomes that contribute to achieving community-wide goals and enhancing the overall effectiveness of arts strategies.