Various Artists with Sofia & Maya

In 1975, a makeshift museum opened on a farm in the Māniototo region of Central Otago. The main feature of this new attraction was the nearly 300 high-end fashion garments on display in an old tractor shed. 

Amassed by a successful but quietly spoken high-country farmer, J Eden Hore, the collection has been called one of the most significant of its kind in Australasia.

Central Otago: The Eden Hore Collection is a new publication by dress historian and curator, Jane Malthus, and Senior Curator of New Zealand Culture and History at Te Papa and fashion historian, Claire Regnault, featuring photography by renowned photographer, Derek Henderson, in association with Te Papa Press. The book had its official launch party at Melanie Roger Gallery earlier this week, where prints of Henderson’s photography of the Eden Hore collection are being exhibited until 17th April. 

Sofia caught up with Jane Malthus and Derek Henderson about the history of the Hore collection and making of the book.

Mark Adams: A Survey | He Kohinga Whakaahua is a new exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery Toi ō Tāmaki. 

As one of Aotearoa’s most distinguished photographers, the exhibition offers the first comprehensive survey of Adams’ work, showcasing more than 65 works spanning his 50-year career. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive book of the same name, co-published with Massey University Press. The publication is the first ever detailed consideration of Adam’s entire body of work.

Sofia caught up with curator of the exhibition and Head of Curatorial and Learning at Auckland Art Gallery, Dr Sarah Farrar, about the exhibition, book, and Adams’ work.

Various Rooms: RM 1997 to 2022 is a new publication covering the first 25 years of RM Gallery and Project Space. 

Established in 1997, RM is Aotearoa’s longest running artist-run space. The gallery seeks to engage with the practices, discourses and modes of presentation that aren’t well-supported or easily accessible in Tāmaki Makaurau, placing the work of local emerging artists alongside more seasoned practitioners.

Published by RM with the support of CNZ, RM25 is a non-exhaustive selection of scans and screenshots from the RM archives (physical and digital) presented in broadly chronological order.

Sofia spoke with longtime member, Nina Dyer, about the book and the history of RM and artist-run initiatives in Aotearoa.

You can pre-order the book here. 

On Various Artists i tēnei rā...

Beth had a kōrero with curator James Gatt about Photosynthesisers: Women and the Lens, a new exhibition showing at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery in Titirangi.

Sofia had a kōrero with co-director of the Chartwell Collection, Sue Gardiner, and Chartwell Anniversary Project Manager, Megan Shaw, about 50 years of the Chartwell Project, and the accompanying anniversary publication: Being, Seeing, Making, Thinking. 

Beth had a kōrero with author Duncan Sarkies about his new book Star Gazers, out now via Te Herenga Waka University Press.

And for Stage Direction this week, Sela Faletolu-Fasi joined Sofia in the studio to speak about Love; Mum - currently on at Basement Theatre. 

Whakarongo mai!