Private collection goes public

Art collected in this country since the 1960s is on permanent display at the Auckland University of Technology. CATHRIN SCHAER explains.

The walls of educational institutions are often better known for their political graffiti than for their outstanding collections of contemporary art.

At the Auckland University of Technology that is all about to change.

The university has entered into partnership with the James Wallace Charitable Arts Trust, recognised as one of the most significant collections of national art in New Zealand.

Works from the collection are being made available to the university on a permanent, rotating basis and are being displayed around the campus, explains Nancy de Freitas, a senior lecturer in the school of art and design at AUT, who has been the prime mover behind the initiative.

The ongoing exhibition, called Prospectively, is available for viewing to both public and students whenever the building is open (7 am to 5 pm).

"It's a wonderful way of instantly bringing all that New Zealand culture into the educational environment," de Freitas notes.

James Wallace started collecting contemporary art in the mid-1960s and in the 90s he established a major art award.

De Freitas knows Wallace professionally and has taken part in the award in the past.

She was aware the Wallace Trust had around 3000 items in its collection and that many of these were in storage. "As an artist myself, I just thought it would be wonderful if all those works could be out where people could see them," de Freitas says.

"I had started talking to James some time ago about finding a way of getting this material out and getting people engaged with it. Most private collections benefit just a few people but if it was able to be accessed on a more public level I thought that could be good for everybody involved - the artists, the public and the collection."

Wallace agreed. "He wants his collection to be a living one," de Freitas explains. After 18 months of planning, Prospectively was set to open at AUT.

By happy coincidence the AUT's new Learning Centre was also almost ready to open, so there were plenty of blank, potential exhibition spaces.

Works were specially attached to the walls to prevent theft or vandalism and today names such as Phillip Trusttum, John Reynolds, Dick Frizzell, Julian Dashper, Mary McIntyre and Toss Woollaston are sprinkled throughout the new building.

Wander the halls and reading rooms of AUT's high-tech library and all those intriguing artworks add a colourful human touch to the shiny new architecture, glass walls and computing equipment. They make you want to stop and look properly.

"From time to time, I have seen that," de Freitas says. "People stop, just staring at a particular painting."

But the artworks are not only for introspective students to gaze upon or for a bit of decoration; they will eventually serve a more practical purpose.

"I see it as a unique opportunity for the students here," de Freitas says. "There are not many collections that are prepared to get involved like this or which would allow the public less formal access in this way."

In the long term she hopes to have students in relevant disciplines involve some of the artworks in their curriculum.

"They could analyse the works, perhaps evaluate the collection as a whole, even interview the artists," she suggests.

"A lot of the younger artists haven't been written about extensively so our students could come in and say something new and relevant about the work."

The relationship with the Wallace Collection is also, de Freitas says, important to the new image and culture of AUT.

"The polytech has changed from being vocation-oriented. We still see what we are doing as practice-based - that is, we're preparing people for a job - but we are now also building a research culture. We want students to evolve on a more intellectual, critical level as well.

"Basically, there are all kinds of possibilities. It's a really rich, fertile ground."