Curator Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira

I have found the mix of academic study and practical work placements an invaluable step on the path towards beginning my career in the museum and heritage industry. I completed a Master of Museum and Heritage Studies. My undergraduate degree focused on Art History but I enrolled in this Programme as I wanted to expand my knowledge of New Zealand culture and heritage, through the medium of museums and galleries. One of the deciding factors in choosing the Museum and Heritage Studies programme was the work placements that make up a large part of the taught Master's programme (MMHS). While academia has always been a focus for me, the potential to gain practical experience in the industry was too good to pass up.

One of my passions has been for costume and textiles, and I have been fortunate to be able to have a placement with Te Papa's textile collection, auditing their wedding dress collection in preparation for a wedding dress exhibition from the Victoria and Albert Museum arriving at Te Papa in December 2011. I am currently a curator at Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira and in 2018 I co curated an exhibition for Women's Suffrage: Are We There Yet? Women and Equality in Aotearoa.

Nina is the co-founder, alongside Matariki Williams, of the website Tusk-Emergent Culture which is a platform for people entering the sector to write about the sector in their own voice.