About the University of Waikato Art Collection Committee

The University of Waikato Art Collection Committee is a sub-committee of the Cultural Committee. It acquires new works for the University's art collection and oversees the maintenance and display of the existing collection. The University collects works of national and regional importance across a range of media.

University of Waikato Art Collection Committee Members

Dr Ann Hardy - Chair

Dr Ann Hardy is Chairperson of the University of Waikato Cultural Committee and of its sub-committee, the Campus Art Committee. Ann has a PhD in Media Studies and is a Senior Lecturer in the Screen & Media Studies Department.

Previous to her appointment to Waikato University, Ann was a journalist with Radio New Zealand and journalist/director with Television New Zealand. She has also been a producer/director with Cottage Video Productions and with Te Pou Taki Kōrero (Learning Media), the publishing division of the Ministry of Education. Ann is a scriptwriter and has a life-long appreciation of the visual and performing arts.

Karl Chitham - Art Curator

Karl Chitham has been involved in the arts sector in various roles for over 10 years. He has a Masters Degree in Sculpture from Elam School of Fine Arts and has been in numerous exhibitions including The Summer Sculpture Season 2010 at St Paul’s St Gallery, and the upcoming exhibition Where Are We at Lopdell House Gallery.

He began curating in 2001 and later became the inaugural Programme Co-ordinator at Objectspace in Auckland where he curated Her Majesty’s Pleasure (Kuinitanga) and The Faux. In 2007 Chitham moved to the Whakatane District Museum & Gallery where he developed a significant exhibition programme, curating the exhibitions Hihita & Hoani: Missionaries in Tuhoeland and Telling Tales: Stories of Ritual and Tradition. Recent projects include Liquid Dreams for the NEW Dowse Gallery and Under for Lopdell House Gallery.

In 2009 Chitham travelled to Venice, Italy as an attendant at the New Zealand Pavilions of the 53rd Venice Biennale. Karl has been a mentor and an educator at both Secondary and Tertiary levels. He has also been active in the arts advocacy arena as a longstanding board member of Artists Alliance and more recently the Waikato Sculpture Trust.

Ms Donna Campbell

Donna Campbell is a weaver of Ngā Puhi and Ngāti Ruanui descent. She completed her Master of Fine Arts at Whitecliffe College of Art and Design in 2005 and is a lecturer in the School of Māori and Pacific Development/Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao.

Donna also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts, and as a multi-media artist is known for her innovative and contemporary work in flax. She uses traditional weaving techniques, and likes to include 'materials both found and made to enhance the textural properties as well the as the visual impact' of her work. She has exhibited both here and overseas, and has received several awards and accolades for her art work.

Graham Price

Graham Price has worked extensively in primary, secondary and tertiary art education throughout Otago and was committed to the development of the art collections of Queen's High School and the Dunedin College of Education. Since 2000 he has worked within the University of Waikato's arts education team and supported the development of policies for the Art Collection Committee.

Graham has held leadership responsibility for Waikato professional development programmes in the arts across the primary and secondary sectors. His research interests include the history of art education in New Zealand, and how children develop their ideas in the arts in primary generalist settings. He also supervises postgraduate study in Arts Education and maintains an active participation in a cappella choral performance.

Dr James Beattie

Dr James Beattie specialises in environmental history, garden history and the history of science. He is particularly fascinated by the exchange of scientific, health and environmental ideas, particularly between Asia and Australasia, as well as the collection of Chinese art objects in New Zealand.

Professor Kay Weaver

Professor C. Kay Weaver has a BA(Hons) and PhD in Film and Media Studies from the University of Stirling in Scotland. She researches and writes about a range of media and communication issues and how media users make sense of media and communication technologies and products.

Kay is a keen supporter of the arts from the ‘audience’, ‘consumer’, ‘viewer’ spectrum of the art performance. She has served on the committee of the Waikato Society of Arts and has worked with student groups to research and advise on how art groups, organisations and events can be supported and promoted in the Waikato region.