09 Jul Milly Mitchell-Anyon announced as Blumhardt Curator at the Sarjeant Gallery
The Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui is excited to announce a new initiative for 2021 that will complement its curatorial team and enable the gallery to develop a major new show for 2022 investigating craft and object based practice in Aotearoa at this time.
The Sarjeant Gallery is honoured to be partnering with the Blumhardt Foundation on this new curatorial opportunity, developed by the Blumhardt Foundation in partnership with joint funding partner Creative New Zealand. The Blumhardt Curator Opportunity is an evolution of the long established and successful Creative New Zealand Blumhardt Curatorial Internship that was administered by the Dowse Art Museum from 2006-2020. The Blumhardt Curator Opportunity for 2021 will hosted by the Sarjeant Gallery and the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt.
This new initiative shifts its focus from emerging Curators to those who have established themselves as Curators working in the realm of craft/object practice in Aotearoa. It provides an opportunity for the recipient to undertake a bold and significant project to develop an exhibition and publication that will add to the discourse about craft/object practice in this country at this time.
One of the aims of the new year-long programme is to foster the talents of those who have already shown a commitment to the sector and who may have already undertaken the internship with the Dowse and are looking to further develop their curatorial remit.
Milly Mitchell-Anyon
Consequently, the Sarjeant Gallery is delighted to announce that independent curator and writer, Milly Mitchell-Anyon will be the Blumhardt Curator for 2021. Currently based in her hometown of Whanganui, Mitchell-Anyon has developed an impressive CV and portfolio of exhibitions and writing since graduating in 2018 with a Master of Arts in Art History from Victoria University of Wellington. In 2019 she undertook a Creative NZ Curatorial Internship in Contemporary Art at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and in 2018 was the Blumhardt Creative NZ Curatorial Intern at the Dowse Art Museum. Mitchell-Anyon has also worked in Collection Management roles at Puke Ariki and the Whanganui Regional Museum.
As the 2021 Blumhardt Curator Mitchell-Anyon will be developing a group show for inclusion in the Sarjeant’s exhibition programme for 2022. The project will survey the work of a selection of contemporary craft practitioners and offer viewers an opportunity to look at the realm of craft /object practice from new perspectives.
Philip Clark – Chair of the Blumhardt Foundation comments “The Blumhardt Foundation is committed to offering professional development opportunities for craft/object art curators. We are delighted to be partnering with the Sarjeant, and Dowse Art Museum, to pilot our new Blumhardt Curator Programme and to offer this opportunity to Milly Mitchell-Anyon, one of New Zealand’s most interesting young curatorial voices.”
Greg Donson – the Sarjeant’s Curator and Public Programmes Manager says “we’re pleased to appoint Milly to this exciting new post and be working with her over the next year as her show comes to fruition. The exhibitions that resulted from her internships at the Dowse and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery were considered, engaging and well received, so it’s great that Milly will be able to spread her wings with this project”. He goes on to say “partnerships like this, with the Blumhardt Foundation and our ongoing relationship with Creative New Zealand with their support of the Gallery’s residency programme at Tylee Cottage, are critical to extending the scope of what we can do as an institution and we’re very happy that the Blumhardt Foundation have recognised our capacity to make things happen”
Milly Mitchell-Anyon – Blumhardt Curator states “I’m incredibly excited to be taking up the mantle of Blumhardt Curator over the next year. It makes perfect sense to be based in Whanganui for a role like this – the Sarjeant Gallery is, and has historically been, committed to the advancement of craft and object art. The Blumhardt Foundation and Creative New Zealand’s investment in this opportunity is a testament to the foresight of the impact a programme like this will have on the sector long-term.” She notes that “Working with the Sarjeant on this project will allow me to further the scholarship in the area of craft/object art in Aotearoa, as well as hone my own curatorial practice.”
This press release was issued by the Sarjeant Gallery at 4.10pm on Friday 9 July, 2021.