Tessa Laird

Project

HUM stands for NZ at Venice

Special feature

In light of the review of Aotearoa New Zealand’s ‘official’ presence at the Venice Biennale, HUM invited New Zealanders on- and off-shore who have visited or been involved in ‘New Zealand at Venice’ projects—as artists, pavilion attendants, exhibition installers or designers—to reflect on how involvement in (or experience of) our previous national pavilions have influenced their own careers, and the international profile of contemporary art from Aotearoa.

Writing

Aotearoa Reviews its Official Participation in the Venice Biennale

By Anna Brown, Bruce Barber, Heather Galbraith, Hutch Wilco, James Goggin, Jennifer Flay, Jhana Millers, Julia Holderness, Laura Preston, Michael Stevenson, Ron Hanson, Sophie Thorn, Tessa Giblin, Tessa Laird

26.09.2022

In light of the current review of Aotearoa New Zealand’s ‘official’ presence at the Venice Biennale, HUM invited responses from New Zealanders on- and off-shore who have visited or been involved in ‘New Zealand at Venice’ projects, as artists, pavilion attendants, exhibition installers or designers, to enable insights into how involvement in (or experience of) our previous national pavilions have influenced people’s own careers, and the profile of contemporary art from Aotearoa.

Writing

Screaming Strawbears and other Strange Engagements

By Tessa Laird

05.07.2019

From Morris dancing to costume making, Berlin-based artist Matthew Cowan and arts writer Tessa Laird discuss Cowan's interest in folklore, the function of tradition in the modern world and the influence of surrealism on his practice. Cowan's exhibition The Scream of the Strawbear opens at Kunsthalle Giessen in Germany on 7 September 2019.