Breaking: huge congratulations to Claire Regnault for winning the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction with Dressed (Te Papa Press). Claire’s award was announced on 11 May at the Ockham Book Awards. Very well-deserved. For a delicious review, check out Sam Brooks on The Spinoff.
In other news, the artists are back in the museums. In Dunedin on Sunday 15 May, 2pm, at Otago Museum, Michele Beevors will talk about the art and craft of creating the life-size knitted wildlife on display in Anatomy Lessons. In Whanganui, also on Sunday, at 3pm, Annie Mackenzie will be at the Sarjeant, chatting with curator Greg Donson about her exhibition Genuine Article. She will also be running a drop-spindle workshop, but that’s booked out. However, this workshop is in association with Christchurch-based Rekindle who run a wide range of workshops including weaving with wool or various local materials, fabric printing, felting, and darning and jogakbo with Steven Park. Check out the Rekindle website if you’re in Christchurch or heading that way, it looks like a fun way to spend an afternoon: https://www.rekindle.org.nz/collections/resourceful-workshops.
There’s a link between Rekindle and today’s final story: Steven Junil Park is of course one of the artists exhibited in She Shed: Contemporary Wool Craft at the Petone Settlers Museum, curated so beautifully by Bronwyn Lloyd. Though in Petone she was a curator, Bronwyn is herself an artist, and her needlepoint can be seen until 12 June at the McCahon House in Titirangi in The Search Party. Bronwyn’s work comprises 28 small wearable charms inspired by the longlost Woven Kauri created in 1954 by McCahon and Ilse von Randow, displayed on another woven work, by Kathryn Tsui. It’s a great story, as outlined by Julia Waite in the Nine to Noon arts segment on 11 May: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018841496/arts-commentator-julia-waite.