Scoop: Ara press release for ‘CURATE ME’
Hidden in plain sight across Ara Institute of Canterbury’s campuses is a remarkable art collection of nearly 700 works. One of the earliest collections held by a tertiary institution, it features works by Shane Cotton, Ralph Hotere, Margaret Stoddard, and many other renowned artists. In a rare move, the collection has been curated for public viewing off campus.
But Curate Me, A Response to the Ara Artwork Collection is more than a conventional exhibit of an established collection. Alongside each original work are the artistic responses of members of Ara’s creative community, including graduates, staff, and students.
Exhibiting the works alongside each other provides an insight into the inspiration that the participants took from the collection and, according to Ara Art Curator Julie Humby, strengthens community awareness of the Ara Artwork Collection.
“The exhibit is about demonstrating how people bring their own personal experiences to art when they’re viewing it,” says Humby. “The artistic responses show that there is no single response to artwork, and that everyone sees art through their own unique lens. This is especially obvious in the works where two people have responded creatively in such different ways.”