VIGGO MORTENSEN – MEDIA CONFERENCE
DATE: FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2003
TIME: 10.00AM
LOCATION: THEATRETTE, MUSEUM BUILDING MASSEY UNIVERSITY, BUCKLE STREET WELLINGTON
Viggo Mortensen will answer questions about his photography, painting and poetry before the opening of his two photographic exhibitions Mò Te Upoko-O-Te-Ika / For Wellington at Massey University and the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington, and a poetry reading fundraiser for Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters.
Media are required to register before the media conference by emailing either: Anna Davidson, Publicist City Gallery Wellington: anna.davidson@wcc.govt.nz or John Saunders, Public Affairs at Massey University: E.J.Saunders@massey.ac.nz. Identification will be required on the day. Media intending to film for television or make sound recordings are asked to indicate this when registering so that technical requirements can be met.
Interested media are also invited to attend an exclusive preview and walk-through of both exhibitions before the public opening.
Previews will be held at the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery at City Gallery Wellington, Thursday 27 November, 6-7pm. Curator Rebecca Wilson will be available to discuss the work. Wine and cheese provided. Then at Massey University in the Museum Building – Tokomaru on the 3rd floor, Friday 28 November, 9-10 am.
EXHIBITION BACKGROUND
Coinciding with the world premiere of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Viggo Mortensen’s photography will be the subject of two exhibitions in Wellington this summer entitled Mò Te Upoko-O-Te-Ika / For Wellington Photographs By Viggo Mortensen.
Massey University will host a large survey of Mortensen’s recent photographic work, while at City Gallery Wellington’s Michael Hirschfeld Gallery photographs of the Wellington region will also be on display.
Both exhibitions run from 29 November 2003 – 25 January 2004.
Viggo Mortensen is a recognised photographer, painter and poet. His work has been exhibited in galleries in the U.S., Cuba and Denmark, and featured in several publications.
Taken while Mortensen lived in Wellington to film Lord of the Rings, the photographs in the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery at City Gallery Wellington will offer a unique chance to see familiar Wellington scenes-Courtenay Place, Mount Victoria, Lyall Bay, Kapiti-through the eyes of an artist who has made strong connections with the region. Massey University will exhibit Mortensen’s abstract photographs in the two third-floor galleries of the Museum Building -Tokomaru, formerly the National Art Gallery.
Massey University will be open from 9am-1.30pm on November 29, then from 10am-4pm daily until January 25. It will be closed over December 24 – January 3. Entry by donation. The Michael Hirschfeld Gallery at City Gallery Wellington is open daily from 10am – 5pm (except Christmas Day).
Entry to the exhibition is free.
POETRY READING
Saturday 29 November 2003, 6pm, at the Paramount Theatre, 25
Courtenay Place.
Tickets $50.
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL. Phone 04 801 3017 or email
art.gallery@wcc.govt.nz
Introduced by Bill Manhire, Viggo Mortensen will read his work alongside New Zealand writers Tusiata Avia, Hinemoana Baker, and Cliff Fell. All proceeds from this benefit reading will be donated to a scholarship fund for students enrolled in the creative writing workshops at Victoria University of Wellington.
For information please contact:
Anna Davidson, Publicist
City Gallery Wellington
Tel: 04 801 3959
Email: anna.davidson@wcc.govt.nz
John Saunders, Public Affairs
Massey University Wellington
Tel: 801 2794 extn 6653
Email: E.J.Saunders@massey.ac.nz
Anna Davidson
Publicist
City Gallery Wellington
Civic Square
PO Box 2199
Tel: 04 801 3959
Mob: 021 998 331
Fax: 04 801 3096
email: anna.davidson@wcc.govt.nz
Check out our websites:
www.newartnz.org.nz
www.city-gallery.org.nz
