Taranaki Cathedral is looking for an innovative curator to shape the first, mission-defining exhibition for Te Whare Hononga at the heart of the Cathedral’s envisioned bicultural peace and reconciliation centre.

Te Whare Hononga (The House That Binds) will be the main bicultural reconciliation exhibition and educational space in the $15 million redevelopment project[1] at the site of Aotearoa’s oldest stone church, St Mary’s Cathedral, New Plymouth. 

Once completed, the multimedia exhibition will tell the stories of the church’s relationship with local iwi – including the difficult chapters during colonisation and the Taranaki Land Wars – in order to stimulate conversation, reflection and reconciliation.

“We are looking for a creative story-teller. Someone who can oversee this project from concept to completion and create an exhibition of narrative-based experiences that are immersive, interactive and empowering,” said Taranaki Cathedral Remediation and Design Manager, Jenny Goddard.

The curator will coordinate a team of skilled collaborators from the church, iwi, hapu and creative industries to realise their vision.

“This is an internationally significant project. The stories told will be local to Taranaki, but the grand narrative, the questions asked, and the emotions elicited and examined, will be universal,” said Jenny. 

Taranaki Cathedral also welcomes expressions of interest for a number of other roles in the bicultural education project: including researchers, cultural advisors, te reo translators and an exhibition builder to help bring the ideas to life.

Taranaki Cathedral has secured funding for the initial exhibition and they would like a curator in place by June 2020. For a copy of the EOI document for the Exhibition Curator, or further information contact Cathedral Remediation and Design Manager Jenny Goddard at jenny@taranakicathedral.org.nz

[1] Scheduled to begin this year, the Taranaki Cathedral Remediation and Design project includes earthquake strengthening of the original stone church, building and development of Te Whare Hononga and the Sir Paul Reeves Education Centre as well and a range of works across the Cathedral grounds and various existing buildings.