Inductees to join illustrious alumni in Hall of Fame

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Inductees to join illustrious alumni in Hall of Fame

Four more illustrious alumni will be inducted into the College of Creative Arts Hall of Fame at Massey University later this week.

Musician Warren Maxwell, multi-media artist Judy Darragh, cartoonist Sharon Murdoch and designer Grenville Main join a celebrated roll call of artists, designers and musicians who have been made members of the Hall of Fame since its inception a decade ago.

Luminaries such as special effects designer Sir Richard Taylor, fashion designer Rebecca Taylor, product designers Danny Coster (Apple and now Go Pro), photojournalist Robin Hammond, digital artist Gus Hunter and posthumously, artists Len Lye, Gordon Walters and John Drawbridge have all been similarly honoured since 2007.

The latest recipients will receive their awards at a gala dinner taking place at Te Papa on Friday.

College of Creative Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Claire Robinson, says it is always a rewarding event to honour graduates from the College, (that started more than 130 years ago as the School of Design), who have made a creative contribution to New Zealand’s cultural and economic progress.

“We are immensely proud to welcome these outstanding alumni, all of whom have contributed to New Zealand’s economy, reputation and identity through art, music or design, as well as taking innovative ideas to the global economy and popular culture.”

Background on 2017 inductees

Warren Maxwell: Warren Maxwell has made a significant contribution to music both in New Zealand and internationally as a multi-instrumentalist, composer and a driving force behind many musical projects. After studying jazz at the School of Music at Massey University, he formed a dub reggae trio Trinity Roots and joined soul funk band Fat Freddy’s Drop. He continues to perform with Trinity Roots on lead vocal and he is the leader of psychedelic blues quartet Little Bushman. In 2015 Trinity Roots won Best Roots Album at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Most recently he composed the score for the Anzac documentary Beyond the Battalion for the 2017 commemorations. He is a senior lecturer in the new Bachelor of Commercial Music degree offered at Massey University.

Judy Darragh: Judy Darragh’s multi-disciplinary and multi-media works have transformed found, recycled, industrial and domestic materials into new contexts and new meanings. Collecting is an integral part of her work as she investigates the relationship between objects and their surroundings. . In a career that spans 30 years, Judy has gone on a continuous trajectory of creativity applying a fresh lens to a huge variety of mediums. She is widely exhibited in New Zealand and in 2004 the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa featured a major retrospective of her work.

Sharon Murdoch: In a short space of time Sharon Murdoch has become a professional cartoonist and in so doing become a trailblazer for other women interested in creating a role in political cartooning. She studied graphic design at the Wellington Polytechnic, a forerunner of the College of Creative Arts. After graduation her work in the profession focused on social justice for various arts and community groups. Working off and on for newspapers as a designer and occasional illustrator, Sharon didn’t start cartooning until her fifties. In December 2014 she was appointed political cartoonist for the Sunday Star-Times. She was a finalist for Cartoonist of the Year Award at the Canon Media Awards in 2014 and 2015 and has won the top prize for the last two years in a row.

Grenville Main: Grenville Main has made a significant contribution to the design profession and to design in general in New Zealand. He has gained recognition from his peers for his individual achievements and for the role he has played in improving the perception and value of graphic design as well as encouraging the career development of emerging designers. He graduated from Wellington Polytechnic with a diploma in Visual Communications and is now Managing director of DNA (formerly Bright, Newlands and Associates), He is a Fellow of the Designers Institute of New Zealand and in 2013 the Institute awarded him its Black Pin for Outstanding Achievement.

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