We are delighted to announce the draft programme of Haerenga / Journeys. This year’s programme is a single stream, and as such runs for three very full days! You can download it at the bottom of this post. Online registration is available until 24 April.
The symposium will begin at the Whanganui Regional Museum on Friday 8 May at 9am with a pōwhiri followed by a light morning tea. We will then adjourn to the museum’s beautiful modernist theatre for our first keynote speaker, costume designer Lee Williams (Waikato-Tainui, Te Rarawa, Whanganui, Kotimana).
Lee’s first job in the world of costume was on Vincent Ward’s film The River Queen, which was set on the Whanganui awa during the turbulent 1860s. The job provided not only a career boost, but a spiritual journey. Following The River Queen, Lee worked for Weta Workshop on productions including King Kong, The Hobbit, and for WOW, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and New Zealand Opera. Believing that sewing is like rongoā (good medicine) for the mind, hands, and heart, she opened Paetuia – the realm of sewing in Whanganui following the pandemic. In the old workroom of Kooky Fashions, where her mother worked as a cutter and machinist many years ago, Lee continues to create incredible costumes, while also passing on her skills to new generations of aspiring needleworkers.
Lee’s keynote will be followed by a diverse range of papers focusing on whakapapa, the life journeys of clothes and textiles and activism. We’ll end the day with a quickfire lightning talk by textile artist Rose Lee, and then wander down to Space Gallery & Studio on Saint Hill Street for a private viewing of her exhibition Last Seen and a celebratory drink.
Saturday morning is dedicated to the magic of rāranga, culminating in a keynote talk by celebrated jeweller and weaver Matthew McIntyre Wilson (Taranaki, Ngā Māhanga, Tītahi). Matthew will have just returned to Whanganui from a residency in Scotland, where he is taking part in a Textile Legacies programme. The residency marks the first formal creative exchange between Whanganui and Dundee, both of which are designated UNESCO Cities of Design. During his time in Scotland, Matthew aims to deepen his understanding of rāranga whakairo (patterned weaving), by studying rare, early Māori textiles held in Scottish museums.
At lunchtime we invite you to stroll down to the city’s iconic River Market to grab a bite to eat and peruse the stalls, or frequent one of Whanganui’s many fine cafes, before sitting down to an afternoon we travel around the world, including the Silk Road, while doing some laundry on the way.
Following afternoon tea, we break for a range of optional events. When you register you can sign up for one of the following:
- Walking tour (limited to 25, book with registration, $25)
Join heritage planner Scott Flutey, and historian Megan Orme-Whitlock for a textile-themed walking tour of the inner city. Sites will include the Liberty Building owned by the Alcorn family, JJ McCaskey & Sons manufacturers, a company connected to Eide & Co, a brand being revived by Wanaka-based builder Nikolai Solakof, and Kooky Fashions in Victoria Street, where Lee Williams runs Paetuia.
- Behind-the-scenes at the museum (limited to 20, free but book with registration)
Take a behind the scenes tour of the Whanganui Regional Museum’s textile collections with the museum’s curatorial team.
- Floor talk in He Kete Iti
Join long-time CTANZ member Dr Maureen Lander MNZM (Ngāpuhi, Te Hikutū) and Taariti Taiaroa for a talk in He Kete Iti, an exhibition featuring 101 petite kete made by 31 novice and experienced weavers in response to kete iti (small baskets) held in museum collections.
Alternatively, head out to explore the newly renovated Sarjeant Art Gallery or the city.
Our symposium dinner will take place on Saturday evening in a truly unique setting – the Whanganui Musicians Club in Drews Avenue. Built in 1893, it originally housed the Wanganui Public Museum which was founded on the collection of Samuel Drew, a local jeweller, collector and avid naturalist. When the museum moved to its new premises in 1931, the building was taken over by the Wanganui branch of the Savage Club. In 2009 it became the Whanganui Musicians Club, a hub for the city’s music scene. Our chef for the evening will be James Schellenberg, a Canadian-born, San Francisco-trained chef, who specialises in the flavour of live-fire cooking, coupled with the principles of farm-to-table, locally-sourced, family-style dining and is well known in the Whanganui region for his pop-up events. We’ll provide a range of non-alcoholic drinks and you can BYO the wine of your choice!
Sunday morning is back to business, with the CTANZ AGM kicking off at 8.45am. Our first symposium session will start at 9.30am with a group of papers linked by the theme of walking. Throughout the day we’ll explore wool histories and take a deep dive into a range of intriguing dress histories including an 18th century gown, a genre painter’s attention to detail and the skirt of choice for adventurous women in the 1910s – the harem skirt.
The symposium closes late Sunday afternoon. If you are staying on in Whanganui for the night, come and unwind with us at Porridge Watson, another of Whanganui’s distinctive bars.
Given all that Whanganui has to offer, we strongly encourage you to arrive a day or two early, or add on a day, if you can to enjoy the city, its many galleries and attractions along the way, such as the Paloma Gardens Paloma Gardens – Home. You can read more about Whanganui here Visit | Discover Whanganui
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