Abby Cunnane
Abby Cunnane is a New Zealand writer and curator. She grew up on the west coast of the North Island near Raglan.[1]
In January 2021, Cunnane took on the role of Director of Christchurch art gallery The Physics Room.[2][3] Previously, Cunnane worked as Director (acting) at St Paul Street Gallery AUT from 2017 to 2018, and prior as Assistant Director from 2013 to 2017.[4] From 2007 to 2012, Cunnane was employed by City Gallery Wellington as a curator, and worked alongside Aaron Lister on the exhibition The Obstinate Object: Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture.[1]
With artist Amy Howden-Chapman, Cunnane is the co-editor of The Distance Plan, an exhibition platform and journal focusing on contemporary art and climate change.[5] The Distance Plan was founded in 2011 to provide a platform for discussion about climate change within the humanities context.[6]
Her father is a pilot, and her mother Alison Annals is a senior tutor at University of Waikato.[1][7][8] Cunnane's brother, Sam Cunnane, is Head of School for Media Arts at Wintec.[9][8]
Education[edit]
Cunnane studied art history and English at Victoria University of Wellington.[1]
In 2018 Cunnane completed a practice-led MPhil in curatorial writing from Auckland University of Technology[10] In 2020 Cunnane completed two years of study in te reo Māori at Te Rōnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Tāmaki Makaurau.[4]
Publications[edit]
As author:
- Saying what You See: How to Write and Talk about Art, Alison Annals, Abby Cunnane, Sam Cunnane. Pearson Education N.Z. (2009). ISBN 9780733993268
As editor:
- The Distance Plan, Distance Plan Press (2013–). Various ISBN for each issue.
- Reading Walking Writing, The Physics Room (2015). ISBN 9780986459481
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "TBI Q&A: Abby Cunnane". The Big Idea. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Abby Cunnane The Physics Room's New Director". ArtBeat. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Abby Cunnane: leading the Physics Room". RNZ. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Keep calm & curate: the role of emotion in art, museums and education". The University of Canterbury. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Abby Cunnane and Chloe Lane in Touching Sight". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "An Interview with Amy Howden-Chapman & Abby Cunnane". Artists & Climate Change. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "My favourite table: Abby Cunnane". Stuff. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Seeing What You See". www.scoop.co.nz. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Sam Cunnane". Default. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Cunnane, Abby (2018). These Things Are Agents of the World and They Announce Themselves: The Sculptural Object in Artworks by Maddie Leach and Bianca Hester (Masters thesis). Tuwhera Open Access, Auckland University of Technology. hdl:10292/11888.