Assessment panel

Ioana Gordon-Smith is the Lead Curator at Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua. Across her work is a commitment to Moana arts practices and their histories. She has also held roles at Artspace Aotearoa, Objectspace, and Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery.

Ioana was the Assistant Curator of Yuki Kihara, Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale 2022, and co-curator of the international Indigenous triennial, Naadohbii: To Draw Water in Canada.

The co-founder and co-editor of Marinade: Aotearoa Journal of Moana Art, Ioana is also a trustee for Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, Wellington. As well as writing for art journals, magazines, and exhibition catalogues, Ioana has contributed to publications produced by Thames & Hudson, Routledge, ARP Books, Te Papa Press, and most recently Site Lines—Women and Art in Aotearoa, edited by Kirsty Baker.

Karl Chitham is Director of The Dowse Art Museum and has been a champion for the arts in New Zealand for 20 years. Karl trained as an artist and educator, previously holding curatorial roles in universities, museums, and public galleries, including Curator at Rotorua Museum and Director/Curator at Tauranga Art Gallery.

Putting collaboration at the centre of his practice, Karl has worked with artist communities, curators, and arts professionals to increase the profile of Toi Māori and Māori artists. He is a board member of the Wairau Māori Art Gallery, Whangārei – the first public gallery dedicated to Māori art in the country.

He has written for multiple arts publications, including co-authoring Crafting Aotearoa: A Cultural History of New Zealand and the Wider Moana Oceania. In 2023, Karl was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Sian van Dyk is Senior Manager Curatorial and Collections at Te Manawa, and has most recently held curatorial positions at The Dowse Art Museum and Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery.

With almost 20 years’ experience working across the visual arts, Sian has a special interest in contemporary craft. She has written for The Journal of Modern Craft (UK), Arnoldsche Publishers Art News – New Zealand, AUT’s BackStory, and Context, as well as galleries across Aotearoa. Alongside working on an array of catalogues, she edited the 2019 major publication Guy Ngan.

In 2015, Sian was the recipient of the Creative New Zealand Craft/Object Art Curator to Munich Award, which culminated in the exhibition The Language of Things: Meaning and Value in Contemporary Jewellery. This international project included over 100 artists from Europe, the USA, Australia, Asia, and Aotearoa.