HELLOS AND GOODBYES
Hellos,
The times they are a changin'. This Spring we welcome new Trustees and say farewell to others.
We are very excited to welcome two new members to the Trust Board; Harriet Cameron and David Poppelwell. With much experience across a diverse range of arts between them, Harriet and David are bringing new ideas and skill-sets to the Board.
Goodbyes,
Kathy Johnston will be stepping down from the board come our AGM. Kathy is one of the founding members of the Sculpture Trust and served as Chair for many years. Her passion, wisdom and determination have been integral to the progression and success of the Trust.
We are also saying farewell and thank you to Nicki Smith who has been both a Board member and Secretary of the Trust. Nicki brought a passion for the arts and an amazing ability to just get things done.
And a special thank you to our Patron
Claire Anderson, who has been our Patron for several years has decided to resign. The Trust would like to thank Claire for her wisdom and support. Kathy Johnston has accepted the position of Patron and we are extremely pleased to have Kathy's continued guidance in helping our cause.
Meet Harriet
Introducing Harriet Cameron, one of our new Trustees. Harriet comes to us with a background in fine arts and architecture and is already putting her skills and network to great use. Harriet has initiated a fantastic project with the Auckland University School of Architecture which we can’t wait to share with the community... more info will be coming soon.
You can read more about Harriet, and our other Trustees here.
5 minutes with David Poppelwell
With a Queen's Service Medal for Service to the Community and Arts, and a life-long passion for the creative fields, David was the perfect candidate to join the Sculpture Trust. We sat down with our newest Trustee to find out a bit more about his love of the arts.
When did your interest in the arts first begin?
It started with my parents who were both very involved with performing arts in Hastings. My mother was a very accomplished concert singer and my father a vaudeville actor. I tended to lean towards the visual side of things with a love of painting and ceramics. My father was a very civic minded person and was the creator of the Fantasyland playing field in Hastings so I helped with the early drawings of trains and castles etc.
How did this passion lead you to Africa?
In the early 1980's I opened a small print and framing business “Dimensions Gallery” which continued through to the early 1990’s. I moved to Auckland in 1988 and was immediately requested to assist with the Exhibition of African Art at the Aotea Centre. This was an outstanding success and as a result I was approached by the Zimbabwe Government to go to Zimbabwe to assist with the marketing and exhibition of their art and stone sculpture. Soon after my arrival in Zimbabwe I was sent to Seville which was about to stage EXPO 92. My task there was to design and supervise construction of the African and Zimbabwe Art Pavilion for the EXPO.
And then what?
I was in Africa for about 4 years overall , when I returned to New Zealand in 1995, I was approached to join the board of the Bruce Mason Centre in Auckland. I served on this board for 14 years with the last 4 years as Chair.
You can read more about David, and our other Trustees here.
A new location for Swell
SWELL, our glass brick sculpture by Colleen Ryan-Priest is looking beautiful in it's new location on the Taupo lakefront - just south of the water treatment plant. Many thanks to Lynden Over and Christine Robb for their time and expertise in bringing SWELL back to life.
We do regular checks around our sculptures to ensure they're looking great. Should you ever spot something amiss with one of our pieces please let us know by emailing tsttaupo@gmail.com. Your help is appreciated!
A Legacy You Can See
Our larger-than-life 'A Legacy You Can See' project is progressing with two sponsors now on board. This is the biggest project we have undertaken at the Trust and we are so excited for the day we can reveal to you all this epic artwork. We are still searching for the final sponsor(s) so if you are interested in supporting this, please get in touch.
Something new for the CBD
And last but not least we have a 3rd project underway for a stunning new sculpture to come to the Taupo CBD. This exciting project is a collaboration with the Auckland School of Architecture. More will be revealed soon so keep an eye out!
Memberships
We truly value each and every person who signs up as a member of the Trust (seriously, we cheer out loud every time). You can sign up online at our website. If you would prefer a hard copy form, just let us know, along with a mailing address. We are a charitable trust so contributions are tax deductible - hooray!