The Adam Art Gallery

The Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi is the purpose-built gallery of Victoria University of Wellington. Located in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, it is a forum for critical thinking about art and its histories as well as the professional structure within which the Victoria University Art Collection is managed. It has built a considerable reputation for its exhibitions, performances, lectures and talks that explore the full range of media available to artists, which aim to test and expand art form and disciplinary boundaries. The gallery is a remarkable architectural statement that is a vital feature of campus life at Victoria and a major force in the artistic life of the city and beyond.

PROGRAMME
Since opening in 1999, the Adam Art Gallery has presented a significant programme of exhibitions and events by local and international artists. Highlights over this period include solo projects by Joseph Kosuth (USA), Joseph Grigely (USA), Fernanda Gomes (Brazil), Zhang Huan (China), Destiny Deacon (Australia), Gunther Uecker (Ger), João Maria Gusmão & Pedro Paiva (Portugal), Brett Graham (NZ), Mark Adams (NZ), Gavin Hipkins (NZ), Darcy Lange (NZ), Vivian Lynn (NZ), Billy Apple (UK/US/NZ). Substantial curated shows include Face to Face: Contemporary Art From Taiwan; Play: Recent Video from Australia and New Zealand; Concrete Horizons: Contemporary Art from China; Breaking Ice: Revisioning Antarctica; 40yearsvideoart.de, and The Subject Now. These exhibitions were accompanied by a lively programme of talks, workshops, forums and lectures. The gallery also regularly publishes catalogues to accompany its programme.

HISTORY
The Adam Art Gallery opened on 21 September 1999 as a result of a major fundraising effort led by the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation as part of the university’s centennial celebrations and galvanised by a major gift from Wellington art patrons Denis and Verna Adam, after whom the gallery is named. The idea to develop the gallery was initiated and realised by Jenny Harper, founding head of Art History who worked with Art History staff and members of the Senior Management Team to develop a brief, select an architect and to secure resources for the operational costs of the building.

The gallery opened with Manufacturing Meaning: The Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection in Context, a project conceived and led by Christina Barton (then a Lecturer in Art History) in which 10 leading New Zealand curators were invited to each conceive an exhibition that contextualised a single work in the collection with the aim of showcasing the art collection and demonstrating the gallery’s new role as its caretaker. This was followed by the first major international project, an installation by leading conceptual artist, Joseph Kosuth, in which the Chartwell Galleries were transformed into a full-scale installation of texts. Also curated by Christina Barton, this signalled the gallery’s potential as a challenging architectural space that lends itself to experimentation.

The first director, Zara Stanhope, was appointed in 1999 to oversee the opening exhibitions and set the agenda for the gallery. With her experience at the Monash University Art Gallery, she brought a wealth of experience and high professional standards to the gallery, and instigated policies and programmes that would ensure the gallery served as a platform for cross-disciplinary work. Sophie McIntyre, the second director, was appointed in 2004. She undertook a number of important thematic and solo shows drawing in particular on her knowledge of contemporary art from Asia. Christina Barton is the third director, taking up her appointment in 2007. Her background in Art History at Victoria and her considerable knowledge of New Zealand art are now informing the gallery and its programmes.