Artist to 'wow' in lecture series

Susan Holmes

IT has been a long time between talks, but spring marks the launch of a new series of lectures at Tairāwhiti Museum.

“Like everyone, our activities were disrupted by the Covid pandemic though museum staff did step up to do presentations in 2021,” says Friends of Tairāwhiti Museum (FoTM) committee chair Clare Robinson.

“So it’s great to be able to launch a new series of talks that are open to both FoTM subscribers and members of the public, and it is one with pretty exciting subject matter.”

The first lecture — Spring Artist Talk — is on at 2pm this Sunday, September 10, and will be presented by textile artist Susan Holmes.

Ms Holmes has a career of more than 50 years’ duration, ranging from silk printing and bohemian-style commercial garments to costume design for television and creating award-winning pieces of sculptural wearable art.

She was primarily located in Auckland, but in 2017 she — along with many of her spectacular pieces — relocated to Gisborne.

Her exhibition Wearable Art: Susan Holmes opened in the main gallery in late August and showcases a dramatic collection of her sculptural garments, most of which debuted at the New Zealand World of Wearable Art (WoW).

Ms Holmes says her talk will at first outline how each garment came about, and will then be led by reactions from the audience.

“People really seem to respond to the pieces, which is wonderful, so I will allow their areas of interest to guide the direction of the day,” she says.

“I love to respond to people’s own passion, and their own wish to be creative, to share information and ideas about art and creativity in general.”

Meanwhile, Ms Robinson says the Friends were looking forward to scheduling more talks as spring moved into summer.

“It’s an exciting way to bring people together to learn more about art, history and goings-on at the museum.”

Entry to this weekend’s Spring Artist Talk is free for FoTM subscribers, and $5 for members of the general public.

Guests can pay at the door but to secure a seat they are advised to sign up at museum reception, or contact staff at 867-3832 or info@tairawhitimuseum.org.nz