Hot on the heels of her fabulously successful "Dessertslands" in WOAP (Wellington On A Plate), the talented Caitlin le Harivel returns to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery with a new foodie experience created especially for the gallery:

Eat Your Art Out:  an edible art experience inspired by Poutokomanawa: The Carmen Rupe Generation and Jaqueline Fahey’s Suburbanites

Step back in time to an edible world of art....

 To celebrate the final night of these fantastic kiwi exhibitions there will be a range of retro treats inspired by the artwork on display. Sip on some “sly grog” and take yourself back to a time when late-night coffee bars covertly sold unlicensed alcohol hidden in teapots or coffee cups. Taste a melting fondue sculpture, create your own edible art and eat from the walls in this interactive art experience-all while enjoying your own private viewing of the exhibitions at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery.

The Menu includes such tantilising items as:

+Cheese Fondue "Cakes": swiss cheese, local sauvignon blanc, a bit of smoke and a lick of garlic
+Carmen's chilli crush Lipstick: Edible chocolate, chilli & vanilla ganache
+Sly Grog: forget prohibition days with a decadent spiked real chocolate & coffee hot drink. *non-alcoholic option available
+"Wallpaper": Embrace your inner child and eat biscuits from the walls.

....and more!

Caitlin Le Harivel has drawn her inspiration from Fahey’s bold artwork and the iconic figures and fascinating stories of Poutokomanawa: The Carmen Rupe Generation. Jacqueline Fahey’s vibrant domestic scenes and emotionally complex paintings such as “The Brush is My Sword, the Palette is my shield” inspired her Edible paints and Cheese Fondue sculptures. She was also particularly inspired by the important role these powerful transgender woman and coffee houses (such as the Evergreen and Carmen’s Coffee Lounge) played in creating places of safety and support in the community.

·      Cheese Fondue Sculptures: seemingly solid “cakes” that will transform into a gooey fondue made of swiss cheese, local sauvignon blanc, a bit of smoke and lick of garlic. The cakes would happily sit on a table in one of Fahey’s many domestic scenes.

·      Chrissy’s Chilli Crush Lipstick: Inspired by the glamorous transgender women of the time, these edible lipstick’s ask you to embrace your inner ‘Queen of the Evergreen” and dress up with an edible lipstick made from white chocolate, chilli & vanilla ganache. Alongside Carmen, Chrissy Witoko who was known as Queen of the Evergreen, was one of the major players in the Wellington nightlife scene. Chrissy Witoko’s niece “Mischellè Tohu’s favourite childhood pastimes was to dress up in her Aunt Chris’s collection of elegant shiny hats, glittery dresses, jewellery and high stiletto shoes. She and her cousins would wait until Chrissy left the house to then try on all her special outfits ‘and pretend we’re in the fairy tale books’.”

·      Sly Grog: a decadent spiked real chocolate & coffee hot drink.  As “the licensed bars closed (at 11:30pm), late night coffee bars began to covertly sell unlicensed alcohol – known as sly grog. Coffee was often laced with whisky, or alcohol was sold straight from teapots or served in coffee cups.”

·(Quotes from https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/3751)

Indulge your childhood memories and have a taste of this unique one-off experience.

*Included in the ticket price are two alcoholic beverages. Further alcohol will be available for purchase on the night.

Tickets are strictly limited and availble through Eventfinda here.

Hosted by CLH Caitlin le Harivel

Can the arts and creativity help address significant national concerns about mental health, social inclusion, an ageing population, and social and cultural inequalities? 
Join our panelists Richard Benge (Arts Access Aotearoa), Aroha Rangi (Creative NZ), Sue Orr (Write Where You Are), Tānemahuta Gray (Taki Rua) & Stephanie Clare (Age Concern NZ), as they discuss this important issue. Chaired by Hon Grant Robertson.

The New Zealand Portrait Gallery is pleased to announce the establishment of an annual lecture on portrait art and its place in our society.  The lecture series is to honour the contribution of Dr Keith Ovenden to the development of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery.  Keith has kindly agreed to give the inaugural lecture on Thursday 15 August.

Why are portrait galleries increasingly popular destinations in major capitals like London?  This lecture explores the idea of a national portrait gallery as an essential component of a civilised society’s understanding and preservation of its history.

Dr Keith Ovenden has been involved with the New Zealand Portrait Gallery for 14 years, initially as Chairman of the Programme Committee, then as a Trustee, and most recently as Chairman of the Board (2012-18).  He is a writer who began his professional life as a university lecturer and has taken a life-long interest in the visual arts.

Join photographer Edith Amituanai and art dealer Anna Miles as they talk about Edith's work, choices for the exhibitio "Edith and George: in our sea of islands", and about having a "conversation" with George Crummer across the Pacific and across time.

Edith will also announce the winner of the Photobooth Competition!

Free Entry

Join us at the Gallery for a demonstration of the living treasure that is Tivaevae!

Grace Hutton, renown tivaevae specialist and collection manager (Pacific collections) at Te Papa, will be in the Gallery with her fellow Tivavae artists to demonstrate their work.
Grace will be talking about Tivaevae at the start of the March 1st session.
A wonderful opportunity to come and see how this beautiful work is done. Members if the group are really happy for anybody to ask questions or bring their own work along and have a go if they would like.
Three Fridays sessions of 2 hours each - ALL welcome!