Midge facilitates the RT Nelson Awards for Sculpture, hosted by the NZ Art Show
In a nutshell, tell us about your role with the NZ Art Show.
I’ve been with the NZ Art Show since 2005 in various roles: curator, gallery assistant, staff co-ordinator, artist liaison, marketing manager, website manager, PR and media liaison. My current role is Special Projects and Outreach Co-ordinator.
How and why did you get involved with the show?
I was studying art in 2005 and one of the show’s curators at the time asked me to curate with her. While I was curating, the staff co-ordinator at the time asked me to work as a gallery assistant over the show that weekend. I loved the experience. It was the first show of its kind in New Zealand, so it was an exhilarating feeling watching the wonderment on all the attendees’ faces and overhearing all the positive comments. It was, and still is, an inspirational environment.
As for my ongoing involvement with the show, the range of roles I’ve had have kept the job really fresh for me. Plus, working with Carla Russell (Executive Director) is an inspiration. She’s focused, ideas driven, and always incites excitement. It’s an honour to work with her.
What’s your specific role in making the show happen between now and King’s Birthday weekend? And what will you be busy doing between now and show-time? Favourite things? Trickiest/weirdest things? Things people might not expect…?
Our small team do everything – more than people might expect – from the smallest things like addressing envelopes to the big things like loading a whole lot of equipment and art into trucks and driving those same trucks, delivering their contents.
My primary focus between now and King’s Birthday Weekend will be ensuring that all comms flow smoothly – that the messaging is reaching all the relevant audiences at the right time, and that the awards’ artists in particular are well informed and prepared to unveil their wonderful creations.
And I’m looking forward to doing letterbox deliveries of our promotional cards. It’s great exercise and reassuring to know they’ll be seen. Our cards feature beautiful artworks from some of our exhibitors: they’re collectibles.
A selection of NZ Art Show 2025 postcards, featuring artists in the RT Nelson Awards for Sculpture.
What are you most looking forward to in this year’s show?
1. The wonderful art: as the artists are especially invited based on the quality of their art, I know the art is going to be outstanding.
2. The new initiatives: specially invited art groups and interactive activities will add a wonderful dimension to the show
3. I’m super excited about the RT Nelson Awards for Sculpture finals: 32 exceptional artists are vying for a $25,000 prize pool!
Of the pieces you have personally bought from the show over the years, which is your current favourite – and why?
I love everything I get from the show. It’s a real challenge to decide what to buy when you are presented with so many beautiful artworks.
I’m a huge fan of abstract minimalism so Wave Width 4, by Taranaki artist Ché Rogers really resonates with me on that level. I’m a DJ, so when I first saw it, a vinyl record was my immediate impression – it’s black and shiny, with grooves, just like a record. When Ché told me that a spinning record player platter was the base when creating the work, I immediately bought it. Ché is also a DJ, so there’s a synergy there. Appropriately, it hangs above my record player: I wish I’d bought another one – then I’d have a pair of ‘decks’.
Wave Width 4 by Taranaki artist Ché Rogers
When you reflect on some of the best stories and anecdotes from shows over the years, what springs to mind?
1. At my first show, a couple had just moved in together. They were in the honeymoon phase and buying their first piece of art together. They were so excited.
2. Seeing a couple of people count out the dollar bills they’d saved over the year especially to buy art at the show. Super cute.
3. Seeing lifelong friendships forming amongst the artists who meet for the first time at the show. It’s such a warm community.
Any other quirky/interesting/unusual or noteworthy show details you want to add to bring the 2025 behind-the-scenes experience to life?
I love the buzz of setting up the show, followed by the buzz of the show opening. I also love the artists. As a practitioner myself, I know what they’ve all gone through to get where they are – the challenges, the rewards, the problem-solving, and the satisfaction of making sales. Plus, they’re really delightful and warm to engage with.
Being an artist can be a solitary undertaking, and the artists are always happy to make connections at the show.
