Govett Brewster Art Gallery announces new assistant curator

Simon Gennard will join Govett-Brewster Art Gallery from August 22. Photo/ Cheska Brown.

New Plymouth District Council Govett-Brewster Art Gallery has announced a new assistant curator.

Simon Gennard will join the gallery as its assistant curator contemporary art and collections from late August 2021.

A curator and writer, Simon was most recently assistant curator of Te Whanganui-a-Tara non-profit contemporary art space Enjoy, and was the 2017 Blumhardt Foundation/Creative New Zealand curatorial intern at The Dowse.

Simon gained his Master of Arts in Art History through Victoria University of Wellington in 2017.

"The Govett-Brewster has long been a focal point for critical conversations about contemporary art, in connection with who we are and our relations to the world.

"We welcome Simon to the gallery, and look forward to the unique contribution he will make to a team researching and presenting a purposeful programme engaging audiences with artists and our collection," says gallery director Dr Zara Stanhope.

"Simon's thoughtful approach to curating and writing about contemporary art will further extend the gallery's ambition to deliver contemporary art experiences that can fire the imagination and create an expanded sense of what is possible."

Simon is delighted to be joining the Govett-Brewster team.

"The gallery has a rich history of supporting artists and communities to engage in dialogue around art and its political possibilities.

"As a civic space, firmly rooted in its local context of Ngāmotu, Aotearoa and the broader Asia-Pacific region, I look forward to contributing to the gallery as a site for challenging, generous and meaningful exchange."

Simon joins the gallery from August 22.