Gus Fisher Gallery
The Gus Fisher Gallery is part of the University of Auckland's National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries (NICAI), and is located in the Kenneth Myers Centre, a historic building restored in 2000 with the help of the gallery's patron, Gus Fisher (1920–2010).[1]
It is operated by the University of Auckland Centre for Art Research, which was established in 2005 to support and develop the academic and research activities connected with the Gus Fisher Gallery, The University of Auckland Art Collection, and Window. The gallery aims to present a balanced and relevant programme of curated exhibitions of contemporary and historical art, which interrogates current visual arts knowledge nationally and internationally.
In 2008, The Gus Fisher Gallery was awarded Metro Magazine's Best Arts Institution in Auckland, from their annual Best of Auckland Issue.[2]
The Gus Fisher Gallery is free, and open Tuesday to Friday, 10am – 5pm, and Saturday 12pm - 4pm.
Kenneth Myers Centre
The Gus Fisher Gallery is located in the former broadcasting building at 74 Shortland Street – now renamed the Kenneth Myers Centre to honour the father of principal benefactor, Douglas Myers.[3] The "strikingly original structure" built in 1934 is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I building.[4]
Centre for Art Research
The University of Auckland Centre for Art Research develops, supports and promotes scholarship, learning, and community engagement in the visual arts. It is an important platform for research at The University of Auckland and provides a public interface for engagement with the wider Auckland and New Zealand communities.
Established in 2006, the Centre is entrusted to manage and develop the University’s extensive and valuable art collection, to coordinate the busy exhibition programme of the Gus Fisher Gallery, and to support and guide the student team that leads the activities of the online and onsite student-curated gallery, Window. The Centre also liaises closely with those other parts of the University engaged in similar or complementary activities with a view to maximising opportunities to profile key initiatives. The Centre was originally named the Centre for New Zealand Art Research and Discovery (CNZARD) but was renamed the Centre for Art Research in 2012.
The University of Auckland Art Collection
Established in 1966 by Keith Sinclair and Bob Chapman, The Art Collection is one of the University’s most valuable and cherished assets.[5] However, its most poignant value lies in its use as a resource for teaching, learning and research. Available on loan to departments and faculties on all campuses, the Collection has been built up over forty years to include major works by significant artists such as Frances Hodgkins, Colin McCahon, Billy Apple and Ralph Hotere.[6] Outcomes from postgraduate research on the Collection have included a thesis on its own history as an entity, monograph exhibitions on individual artists, and surveys of the impact of the evolution of the Collection on Auckland’s dealer galleries, resulting in the exhibitions and publications Vuletic and His Circle (about the Petar/James Gallery) in 2003 and New Vision Gallery in 2008.
References
- ^ "Our donors". Ingenio. Spring 2008: 11. ISSN 1176-211X
- ^ "Best Arts, Culture and Architecture". Metro Magazine. December 2008: 36
- ^ "Our Donors". Ingenio. Spring (2008). 10. ISSN 1176-211X
- ^ "1YA Radio Station Building (Former)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ Dunn, Michael. The University of Auckland. Auckland: Woolmore Publishing,1983.
- ^ Dunn, Michael. "The University of Auckland". Art New Zealand. Number 26, Autumn 1983: 48