• Govett-Brewster Art Gallery | Len Lye Centre
• 42 Queen Street
• New Plymouth Central
• govettbrewster.com

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery | Len Lye Centre is excited to announce curator and artist Taarati Taiaroa (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Apa) will join the Gallery in the role of Assistant Curator, Contemporary Māori Art.

Taarati’s appointment brings the Gallery curatorial team to full strength, joining Assistant Curator Contemporary Art and Collections Simon Gennard, Len Lye Curator Paul Brobbel, and Assistant Curator Len Lye Megan Denz, with leadership from Director Dr Zara Stanhope.

“This is a very significant appointment for the Gallery team and helps us extend our partnerships with Whiringa Toi – iwi and Māori artist leaders who participate in shaping the priorities, procedures, and cultural activities of the Gallery – and our relationships with curators, artists, writers and creatives who are working across Toi Māori,” Zara says.

Taarati is an independent curator, researcher and artist based in Ōtepoti, Dunedin. Recent projects have included curatorial roles on Auckland Art Gallery’s Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, ongoing research into the work of late artist Matt Pine, and a governance role with Blue Oyster Arts Trust in Ōtepoti.

She brings Masters degrees in both fine arts and museum and cultural heritage, as well as extensive experience as a practicing artist, arts writer and curator, and in leadership roles across the sector.

“The Govett-Brewster has been a regular and important destination for contemporary art and artists of Aotearoa for decades. Having followed the programme for many years, I’m excited about joining the team there and contributing both to the ongoing story and impact of the Gallery, but also to be in service to Toi Māori and assist partnerships between the Gallery and tangata whenua to flourish,” Taarati said.

Zara acknowledges the significance of timing in appointing this role. “This is an important time for contemporary Māori art and artists in Aotearoa and Taranaki, and a key moment for the institutional sector to create pathways for emerging professionals. At the Govett-Brewster we are on a journey of cultural growth in a number of significant areas for the Gallery and focused on exciting opportunities to deepen necessary relationships and the ways we can support Toi Māori on the near horizon.”

“We look forward to welcoming Taarati knowing that she will make positive and impactful contribution to all of these developments.”

Taarati joins the Gallery team in Ngāmotu from 12 October 2022.

About the Gallery

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is New Zealand’s contemporary art museum in the coastal city of New Plymouth, Taranaki on the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Since opening in 1970, the Gallery has dedicated itself to innovative programming, focused collection development and audience engagement. Owned and operated by New Plymouth District Council, the Gallery has earned a strong reputation nationally and internationally for its global vision and special commitment to contemporary art of the Pacific Rim. The Govett-Brewster is also home to the collection and archive of the seminal modernist filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye (1901–1980).