University of Auckland launches popular Communiqué programme

Media release
15 March 2011

University of Auckland launches popular Communiqué programme

The University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning will launch its popular Communiqué Autumn Lecture Series with a showcase of national and international experts that spans professions and disciplines.

Now in its fourth year, the Communiqué public lecture series highlights the breadth and depth of the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries (NICAI), widely respected as a hub for trans- and interdisciplinary research and practice. This semester’s offerings include lectures on dance choreography, Tongan sculpture, modernist architecture in the Soviet Union, and a Bedouin primary school made of tyres and mud. Speakers hail from the United States, Japan, Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand.

“It may be initially surprising to find lectures on choreography and sculpture in a series presented by a School of Architecture and Planning, but Communiqué’s diversity reflects the scope of our two disciplines,” says Senior Lecturer of Architecture Jeremy Treadwell, who has coordinated the programme. “As host of this prestigious line-up of guests, the School celebrates the richness inherent in these areas of study.”

Featured speakers include Patrick Reynolds, New Zealand's leading architectural photographer. He has also collaborated with writers on best-selling books on such topics as the villa, the bach, contemporary houses, and architects’ own residences. Patrick is currently teaching a paper on architectural photography at NICAI.

Los Angeles-based architect Mark Lee is a founding partner of Johnston Marklee. Their work often involves collaborations beyond those typical of architecture, involving contemporary artists, graphic designers, writers and photographers. Mark Lee will teach an intensive design studio later this semester.

As one of the nation's leading landscape designers, Megan Wraight works with our best architects and urban designers to create public spaces and landscapes around the country. Her most celebrated works include the multi-award-winning Waitangi Park in Wellington, which broke new ground with its ecological features.

Neil Ieremia is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished contemporary dance choreographers. He is the founder and artistic director of the dance company Black Grace recognised as the world’s leading exponent of Pacic contemporary dance.

Visit Communiqué Autumn Lecture Series: www.creative.auckland.ac.nz/communique

The University of Auckland’s National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries comprises the School of Architecture and Planning, Elam School of Fine Arts, the Centre for New Zealand Art Research and Discovery (CNZARD), the School of Music and the Dance Studies Programme.
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