Australian and New Zealand Art Exhibit Opens at Thorne

From Jackie Hooper, Thorne: Australian and New Zealand artists show contemporary artwork that’s rooted in their indigenous past in an exhibit that opens Monday, September 8, and continues through Sunday, October 19, at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery.

“Earth and Spirit: Contemporary Indigenous Art from New Zealand and Australia” features indigenous art in a variety of media, including paintings and traditional forms such as weaving and carving in wood and jade, and includes carved masks, fiber art, weaponry, and musical instruments.

A reception on Thursday, September 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. will include a discussion on New Zealand art and culture and screening of two New Zealand films.

Maori artist and Fulbright scholar Aroha Dahm and New Zealand Honorary Consul to New England Simon C. Leeming will lead the discussion and answer questions at 6 p.m. at the gallery. After the discussion, the KSC Film Society will show Alex, a story that follows a New Zealand swimmer training for the 1960 Rome Olympics, at 7 p.m., and Old Scores, a film about two old men re-creating the controversial 1966 All Blacks/Wales rugby match in New Zealand, at 9 p.m. in the Putnam Arts Lecture Hall. Admission to the films, reception, and exhibit is free. For information, call 603-358-2720 or visit http://www.keene.edu/tsag.

Courtesy Photo
Emu’s Nest, an acrylic painting by James P. Simon, an Australian Aboriginal, is among the 60 artworks exhibited in “Earth and Spirit: Contemporary Indigenous Art from New Zealand and Australia”