Category: Travel

  • New opening hours

    The studio is now open for the summer. Opening hours for the studio are 11am to 3pm on weekdays, and by appointment. Call +64 (0)224 058 526 or send an email to make a date to come in. Something from the studio collection is on display in the window, and there is art to look…

  • The end of the trip

    It is the final few days of the most recent trip and we will be heading back to Greymouth on Monday next week. Thank you for your patience while we have been away. I am not going to be able to write a proper blog this week but there is plenty to tell for next…

  • Mana

    During the activism years of the 1970s Pacific and Māori voices were given a platform through print. Mana was a publication that highlighted societal issues while, at the same time, promoted identity and cultural values. During its short run – July 1977 to May 1978 – the paper relied on voluntary support and an editorial…

  • A reader contributes

    This week a reader from South Africa has sent in a Facebook link to “Architecture of Return“, an artwork of the floor plan of the British Museum on a blue deer hide, along with symbols for the artefacts that are held in the Museum’s collections. This piece references the hide paintings that convey histories across…

  • Away again

    For the next two weeks I will be away, first in Christchurch, then Auckland before driving down to Wellington to give a talk to the Shetland Society of Wellington. The blog will continue as far as possible while I am travelling. I look forward to sharing the travel with you all.

  • Compuknit

    A recent addition to the studio collection are two packs of vintage Compuknit from 1974. Compuknit was a system for knitting garments. These two packs were published, under licence from Wolmark, South Africa, in Salisbury, now Harare, in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. The packs contain pairs of discs that each have a moveable rotating back. In…

  • New items for the library

    The studio library continues to grow. Keiskamma Art Project is based in the village of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Established by the Keisakamma Trust, an organisation with the aim to “build healthy communities in all respects”, there are four strands to the work of the Trust: Art, Music, Health and Education.…

  • Shae Bishop – ceramic cowboy

    Shae Bishop is a ceramic artist who uses his discipline to create distinctive costumes. Based in Virginia in the USA, the artist works with clay to make portraits through clothing. His pieces cross-over between tiles and textile, making the wearer both invincible and vulnerable. Check out more of the artist’s work here and read an…

  • Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa

    Zeitz MoCAA is carved out of old grain silos on the quayside of Cape Town’s docks and features the contemporary art of Africa. One Must Be Seated is a multi-disciplinary show by Ghanaian-American artist Rita Mawuena Benissan of her Ghanaian culture. Reimagining the royal umbrella and stool that represent Akan chieftaincy through tapestry, video, photography…

  • The Spotify playlist

    Most weeks, a playlist on the streaming platform, Spotify, accompanies the entries on the blog. Each of the pieces reflects something in the blog although sometimes the link is obscure. To listen to the playlist click on the player above or head over to Spotify online or in the app and search for “Music to…