Inaugural Curatorial Lectures

Inaugural Curatorial Lectures

The expertise of curators, librarians and specialists lies at the heart of any great research library. Recently four new curators joined the Alexander Turnbull Library. During February we introduce them to you in a series of inaugural public lectures. The lectures will be held on Wednesdays on Te Ahumairangi ground floor of the National Library starting at 5.30pm and finishing at 6.45pm.

The events are free public events but please RSVP to events.natlib@dia.govt.nz telling us which lecture/s you wi
sh to attend by giving us the name/s of the speaker/s.

Sir Rex Nan Kivell and his collections – an exploration in discovery and access
Dr Oliver Stead; Curator Drawings, Paintings and Prints
Wed 3 Feb 5.30pm – 6.46pm

Sir Rex Kivell was a New Zealand-born collector and art dealer with a passion for the history of the South Pacific. His collection, numbering hundreds of paintings and drawings and thousands of prints and artefacts, was acquired by the Australian Commonwealth.

This lecture looks at how the Nan Kivell collection continues to inspire interest and how digital initiatives have increased its popularity.
Oliver Stead is the author of a number of books on New Zealand art. He has held senior and specialist roles in several collecting institutions including Dunedin Public Art Gallery and the National Library of Australia.

Couldn’t it have been the bagpipes? Reflections on the work of Douglas Lilburn
Dr Michael Brown; Curator Music
Wed 10 Feb 5.30pm – 6.45pm

New Zealand’s most celebrated composer Douglas Lilburn claimed he grew up with little music on the family farm and at school. But he was in fact exposed to an array of domestic, school and church music. Indeed the Scottish traditions of his parents left a subtle but pervasive mark on his work.

This lecture considers how music historiography in New Zealand has developed as a series of silos despite evidence of interconnections among musicians and musical styles. Lilburn’s work stands as a prominent example of a more widespread pattern of musical cross-pollination.
Michael Brown’s Masters and Doctoral theses explored various aspects of New Zealand music including folk, Māori performing arts and music historiography. He has also performed music in a wide range of styles.

From Wine to Words: A history of the Gutenberg Bible
Anthony Tedeschi; Curator Rare Books and Fine Printing
Wed 17 Feb 5.30pm – 6.45pm

Few books have had as wide-reaching impact on global culture as the Gutenberg Bible. Johann Gutenberg perfected the combination of moveable metal type, printing ink, and a wooden screw press to enable the production of a large number of identical copies. This led to the rapid dissemination of knowledge, to the forming of communities of scholarship and eventually to the literate mass culture of today.

This lecture discusses the history of the Gutenberg Bible from its creation to its status after Gutenberg’s death, including some remarkable stories of ownership, theft and sales.
Anthony Tedeschi was Rare Books Librarian at Dunedin City Library and Curator of Rare Books at the University of Melbourne. He holds a Master’s degree in Library Science and an MA in English Literature.

Kicking at the Boundaries: The intersections of art and archive
Dr Shannon Wellington; Curator Manuscripts
Wed 24 Feb 5.30pm – 6.45pm

The last decade has seen increasing colonisation of the archive by artists. Collecting institutions have invited artists to remediate, re-conceptualise, and re-purpose their archival holdings. A new genre of art has emerged drawing on documentary heritage resources.

This lecture explores these ideas through case studies of innovative collaboration between artists and the archive.
Shannon Wellington lectured in Archival Systems and Preservation Management at Victoria University of Wellington and is a teaching Associate for the Museum and Heritage Studies Programme.

Bookings
These are free public events but please RSVP to events.natlib@dia.govt.nz telling us which lecture/s you wish to attend by giving us the name/s of the lecturer/s.

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