Twin blogs

It's just been pointed out to me that there is another "Outpost" out there. There is a shop called Outpost Hokianga which has a blog named The Out!Post . I guess nothing is ever original even if we think it is, especially in the art world. Perhaps we could feature on Over the Net's lookalike section! Maybe Blogalike would be more like it.

Closing the doors

Well today is an exciting time for us, it is the day the doors of the main gallery close officially for the start of the development project on the main gallery building. It’s both sad and exciting for us. We are very excited about the new building project and the extra facilities it offers but will miss working within the walls of the building while this happens. Here are a few photos of behind the scenes at the main gallery.

The cart dock, one of the areas desperately in need of an upgrade.

A view from the inside out of the clock tower



Not to forget our lovely staff room, this is how it looked before we left the building, it is a much emptier space now.

And finally......here is my old office space, tidy as usual! With Geoffrey whizzing by in the background.


Farewell to the main building for now, we look forward to working there again when it it refreshed.....hopefully end of 2010.

Aeroplanes and helicopters

I just love these photographs by Jeffrey Milstein that were on photography-now.com's newsletter.
Jeffrey Milstein Southwest Boeing 737-700 Ultrachrome Pigmented Inkjet127 x 127 cm (50 x 50 in)Edition of 3


Currently on exhibition at the Young Gallery, Brussels.

Art World Magazine Launch

Last night was the New Zealand launch of the Australian, bi-monthly, Art World magazine at Clooneys in Auckland.

I popped along to find everyone hidden in the downstairs, dark and noisy bar. Many of the local gallery owners and money men were there but not that many of the artists from Auckland which was a shame.
Saying that the magazine looks great and it's fantastic to see a lot less advertising clogging up the pages as happens in many of the other large arts magazines. Hopefully they don't go and change this too much now it's launched.

No website either at the moment which seems a little odd but ill keep my eye open, it looks like they have the domain name under their sleeve.

Best of all though, Yvonne Todd has a 6 page spread on her work with an interview by our very own curator of contemporary art, Natasha Conland. Great to see a New Zealand artist with such a high profile in an Australian magazine.

Yvonne Todd Limpet 2005 lightjet print on archival photographic paper, Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki

Auckland Art Gallery blog open to all

I just saw this post on Over the net and on the table so it looks like we are one of the first Museums/Galleries to give blogging a go. Let's hope we manage to stay in the good books!
The blog is now open to everyone and I'm hoping to get more Auckland Art Gallery staff involved soon.

Review of Laurence Aberhart exhibition

Eyecontact has just written a great review of the Laurence Aberhart exhibition we currently have on show at the Auckland Art Gallery, New Gallery. Thanks for the review.

(image: Laurence Aberhart Moreporks (Bird Skins Room #2), Taranaki St, Wellington 3 October 1995 Courtesy of Laurence Aberhart)

Research Library Relocates

We’d known we were to relocate the E.H. McCormick Research Library to a nearby Council office block for over two years but suddenly with the announcement of the settlement of the building appeals process, the move was upon us.

Catherine Hammond, Research Librarian, and I prepared a detailed list of what needed to be done and we got started straight away.

The book collection numbers approximately 30,000 volumes and we calculated that approximately a thousand of these would not be able to come with us to our ‘new’ library but would need to be moved to off-site storage due to space considerations. Having selected a book, its barcode was scanned to update the catalogue of its new location and then it was packed and stored in an area adjacent to the Library.




As this task was ticking over we made decisions about other aspects of the collection as well as furniture and fittings (the fetching bright orange 1970s carpet may be auctioned off in one metre squares – it’s so sought after!). Pre-2003 journals, auction catalogues, older audio-visual material, a large number of vertical files, some archives and special collection material would all need to be listed and then, similarly, put into storage. This and the collection we were to take with us had to be boxed, labelled, relocated, unpacked and re-shelved and all in perfect order, please.

A wonderful commercial relocation team of approximately eight fit young men and women were employed to do the bulk of the move. This took place over 2-3 days during which time we kept one-step ahead with the documentation that was needed. Approximately 900 boxes were used.

During the pack-up, we found all sorts of intriguing items including a newspaper from 1974 that had an article on how Mick Jagger was still touring at the ripe old age of 31!

As the books were unpacked, there was a nasty moment when it appeared we had run out of space for the photography books. The quick-thinking Catherine instantly created a new out-size collection elsewhere and the problem was solved.

While we miss the old view (yes I am the small one on the left):

we hope you agree that our new streamlined library is looking good and ready to receive art researchers who find the extra little walk to the 9th floor of the Bledisloe Building worthwhile.