Trailblazers: Suzie Moncrieff

Suzie Moncrieff is the creator of the World of Wearable Art show.

Suzie Moncrieff Sculptor and art entrepreneur 1949

Creator of the World of Wearable Art show

On a rainy evening in 1987, some 200 people gathered at the William Higgins Gallery, just outside of Nelson, for a wearable arts show to promote the gallery. Fast forward 21 years and Suzie Moncrieff, who co-founded the gallery and organised that wearable arts promotion, is a multi-award-winning arts entrepreneur.

Born in Hope, near Nelson, Moncrieff was one of four children of Dorothy and Jack Dick who were involved with the arts; Dorothy painted and performed her own comedy act and Jack, a pianist, had his own dance band. From an early age, Moncrieff wanted to be an artist but her application to art school was turned down. She enrolled at Christchurch Teachers' College instead but left after a year.

Marrying at 20, Moncrieff became a mother at 23 and juggled parenting with other work. She didn't return to art until in her 30s. Twice divorced, she changed her surname to Moncrieff – reflecting her mother's Shetland Islands heritage – and started sculpting.

After her first show, in Wellington in the 1980s, Moncrieff decided, along with six other artists, to start their own gallery partly because it made economic sense given the high fees established galleries charged. That gallery, the William Higgins, was set up in a heritage cottage; the World of Wearable Art show was held to promote it.

During the next two decades WOW's reputation grew, with it eventually becoming too big for Nelson and, in 2005, moving to Wellington. Moncrieff says that was one of the most difficult decision she's ever made. WOW is now Wellington's biggest single event, attracting designers and visitors from all over the world, and it helped establish our capital city's reputation as a centre for creativity and innovation.

In 1998, Moncrieff was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts and tourism then, in 2012, promoted to Dame Companion of the same order.

MEET MORE TRAILBLAZERS HERE: