The holiday preview is late this year, but there are textile and dress exhibitions to be found from one end of the country to the other this summer. Starting with Michele Beevors in Invercargill. Yes, those giant skeletal animals on the right are textile: knitted, in fact. Traded is one of the opening exhibitions at He Waka Tuia, , the partnership of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery and the Invercargill Public Art Gallery which has been established since the closure of the Southland Museum. This imposing work by Dunedin-based Beevors will be on display until March.
Moving northwards, at the Christchurch Art Gallery through to the end of February, textile artist Emma Fitts is part of Touching Sight, an exhibition of new work by three local artists. Over the water, at the Dowse, Creating Potential showcases Veranoa Hetet’s weaving of and for past and future. Across to Pataka, where Yuki Kihara merges her cultural traditions of Sāmoan siapo and Japanese kimono in (Sāmoa no uta) A Song About Sāmoa.
Finally, back in Auckland, everyone’s been talking about Toi Tū Toi Ora at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. This exhibition’s many highlights include work by Maureen Lander, both on her own and in collaboration with Mata Aho. And the New Zealand Fashion Museum’s Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now is having another run, at
Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku.
Aside from Moana Currents, which finishes on 12 February, most of these exhibitions are on until 28 February. And Toi Tū Toi Ora runs until May – which means an opportunity to see it for those travelling to Auckland for the CTANZ symposium at the end of April. Enjoy your summer, inside and out, and keep us posted of any other exhibitions of interest coming up during 2021.