Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Auckland Museum
Over the course of 2021 and 2022 Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum will bring Aucklanders an exciting programme of international touring exhibitions, alongside the Museum’s own shows that illustrate the wealth and diversity of its collections including: Sea Monsters; Secrets of Stonehenge; Ancient Greeks: Warriors, Athletes and Heroes; Love & Loss* and Nature Boy: The Photography of Olaf Petersen – for more, please see the attached media release.
Please let me know if you would be interested in interviews with our curators or talent associated with the stories or themes mentioned below.
We’d also love it if you’d consider adding this in your upcoming events/what’s on/what’s new segments if appropriate.
*please note, Love & Loss opens in July but is on until February 2022.
LOVE & LOSS
OPENS WED 28 JUL 2021 – MON 31 JAN 2022 SAINSBURY HORROCKS GALLERY, LEVEL 2
Free with Museum entry
Images HERE
Love & Loss, opening on Wednesday 28 July and running until February 2022, explores expressions of love, loss, hope and longing shared between lovers, friends, and families from the 1800’s through the world wars up to present day.
The exhibition features objects from the Museum’s manuscript collection as well as loans from the public, all of which explore human emotions and the need to share how we feel. Over half of the contemporary objects that form this exhibition were sourced through Auckland Museum’s public call out in 2020. The call out resulted in hundreds of submissions of personal communication that ranged from letters and scribbled notes to Facebook messages and emails.
Love & Loss investigates why we keep these letters and scribbled notes to Facebook messages and emails. As we face new challenges, this exhibition is a timely exploration of our unchanging need to say what we must, especially when time, distance and circumstance keep us apart.
The exhibition is divided into two main themes of Love and Loss, and as visitors move through the exhibition they will be able to relate to many of these objects in their own lived experiences; this intimate and deeply personal exhibition is an opportunity for personal contemplation and reflection.
Some stories included in the exhibition include the first love letter written to a partner who later passed away due to complications related to HIV; coded telegrams between Antarctica and Aotearoa that included a marriage proposal; a wife’s year-long correspondence with her husband while he was in jail; a young woman in Zimbabwe sending love letters to a young man in Aotearoa she later marries and then immigrates with to New Zealand and much more.
SECRETS OF STONEHENGE
OPENS FRI 3 DEC 2021 – MON 18 APR 2022
AUAHA ATEA NUI SPECIAL EXHIBITION SUITE
Tickets: Adult $19, Child (5-13) $14, Family (2 children, 2 adult) $52, Under 5 Free
Unlimited free entry with Museum Membership Images HERE
After centuries of speculation, scholars are finally forming an understanding of Stonehenge thanks to archaeological excavations and advances in scientific techniques. Evidence from Stonehenge itself along with remains from the surrounding landscape shed light on the people who constructed one of the world’s most famous monuments.
Now, after almost 20 years of excavations at Stonehenge and at the source of its bluestone in Wales, archaeologists finally have some answers.
Secrets of Stonehenge highlights more than 300 ancient artefacts and the latest cutting-edge scientific research to answer questions about this iconic, mysterious World Heritage Site.
This exhibition follows the development of Stonehenge as a special place in the landscape and explains the origins of the enigmatic monument while illuminating the lives of the people who constructed. Explore where, when, why, and perhaps most intriguingly, how Stonehenge was built.
Visitors will leave the exhibition with new revelations into what Stonehenge meant to the people who built it … and what it means to the world today.
Explore Stonehenge’s story – one of change and evolution – through hundreds of artefacts and modern science. Immerse yourself in the science and the spirit of place that is Stonehenge!
NATURE BOY: THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF OLAF PETERSEN
OPENS EARLY MAR 2022 – FEB 2023 SAINSBURY HORROCKS GALLERY, LEVEL 2
Free with Museum entry Images HERE
Award-winning Swanson photographer, Olaf Petersen (1915-1994) spent a lifetime creating images of the outdoors, especially on the coast of West Auckland. Referred to in correspondence as ‘Nature Boy’ by his friend and fellow photographer Alan Warren, Petersen was born in Swanson to a Swedish mother (also a photographer) and Danish father. Petersen was well known out West, photographing local life and people at work and play whilst taking professional portraits for a living.
Predominantly showcasing landscapes, Petersen’s images often include elements that cross the boundaries of nature and humanity, often including the presence of people in the frame. Seabirds and children feature on windswept sandhills and beaches, morning mists cling to trees as sunlight breaks through. He took nature photographs whilst tramping in places such as the Hauraki Gulf Islands with the Auckland University Field Club documenting flora and fauna, and his work could be seen regularly in the newspaper Weekly News and the NZ Herald.
Petersen’s original competition prints clearly show his ‘mid-century modern’ photographic practice and affection for the natural world.
He presents an environment that in some cases may be at risk or off-limits today, such as toheroa shellfish beds. Petersen’s heart was never far from the coast and many of his photographs take us to these places, especially his favourite location, Te Henga – Bethells Beach.
ANCIENT GREEKS: ATHLETES, WARRIORS AND HEROES
OPENS FRI 10 JUN 2022 – SUN 16 OCT 2022
AUAHA ATEA NUI SPECIAL EXHIBITION SUITE
Tickets: Adult $25, Child (5-13) $12, Family (2 children, 2 adult) $62, Under 5 Free
Unlimited free entry with Museum Membership
Images HERE
This exhibition from the British Museum’s world-renowned collection from the Ancient Greek world is the largest selection of ancient artefacts ever loaned by the British Museum to New Zealand.
It will showcase a wide range of treasures and stories and includes a selection of iconic sculptures from the ‘Mausoleum at Halikarnassos’, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.
Ancient Greek civilization has had a profound influence on the development of language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and the arts around the world. Artistic, physical and intellectual competition pervaded all of society and this exhibition asserts that competition can also unify, resulting in achievement and innovation.
Key objects in the show include iconic black and red ceramics featuring finely drawn depictions of athletes, gods and citizens; stunning marble and terracotta, statues and reliefs – including many fine nudes; bronze figurines; weapons and armour; toys and games; fine gold jewellery; and coins.
