TE AHIKĀROA

A day of public events to launch Te Ahikāroa, which celebrates the artists and stories of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery collection. This major new book is being launched alongside a collection-based exhibition of the same name, which uses artworks to explore ideas of arrival and departure; ways of occupying and experiencing land and the natural environment; buildings, structures and spaces of shelter and protection; and the sharing of stories through art.

11am: Exhibition walkthrough
A tour with DPAG Curators and artists Neil Pardington (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Pākehā),  Kate Fitzharris and Ani O’Neill. DPAG Curators will share an overview on the themes, and ambitions of the publication and exhibition, and each artist will share insights on their artworks within the exhibition.

1pm: Talk with Dr Anya Samarasinghe
An illustrated presentation on selected historical artworks held in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery collection and depicted within the book, Te Ahikāroa. Along with curating the exhibition Paradise of Imagination: Modern & Medieval Encounters, Anya made significant research and written contributions to Te Ahikāroa during her internship with the Gallery.

This presentation will dive into the intersections between selected historical artworks from Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and wider historical artworks across Aotearoa New Zealand’s public collections. 

About the speakers:

Neil Pardington (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Pākehā) is an artist and designer based in Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa. His work is held in national and international collections including National Gallery of Victoria, Australia; Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.

Kate Fitzharris is an artist based in Ōtepoti, and primarily working in ceramics and “found materials” including wild clay. Kate completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Dunedin School of Art, with a major in ceramics (1993-1996). In 2023, Kate exhibition as part of the Gallery’s Suiteseries, showcasing Ōtepoti based artists. She has held several residencies, including Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park [Japan], 2019 and Tylee Cottage [Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui], 2018.

Ani O’Neill is of Cook Islands and Irish/NZ heritage. She graduated with a BFA from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 1994 (sculpture/installation) and has exhibited extensively in Aotearoa and the Pacific, with works shown in the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Taiwan, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Poland and Lithuania. O’Neill is an active member of the Pacific Sisters collective, whose major retrospective at Te Papa, Pacific Sisters: He Toa  Tāera | Fashion Activists (2018) also travelled to Toi ō Tamaki Auckland Art Gallery (2019). O’Neill has held many residencies, including the Rita Angus Cottage, Thorndon, Wellington (1997), and the apexart Fellowship, Tribeca, New York (2003), with her very first artist residency being with DPAG in 1995.

Dr Anya Samarasinghe is an art historian and emerging curator. She received her PhD from The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau in 2023 and was the 2025 Ihupukutaka Kairaupī Curatorial Intern at Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Her research and publications have focused on Victorian art collections in Aotearoa’s public art galleries, Pre-Raphaelitism, and the reception of ancient Egyptian and medieval culture in Aotearoa.

FREE From 11am Saturday 28 March

[Image: Neil Pardington (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Pākehā), Ara ki te araroa, Marama i te whata, Huriawa (2021). Pigment inks on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta. Collection of Dunedin Public Art Gallery.]