Join us to hear designer and maker Carin Wilson share his perspective on the whakapapa of design in Aotearoa.

As a furniture designer and maker in the 1980’s Carin began to question the influence of traditions that assumed cheerful compliance in a universal vocabulary. For this lecture, he will describe a journey of discovery of a design vernacular of our own.

Carin has been instrumental in our research for The Chair exhibition and upcoming publication. This lecture will share stories of making in Aotearoa from the Artiture furniture movement in the late 1980s through to today. Through this Ockham lecture Carin hopes to provoke questions around what design practice looks like today, into the future and the journey makers have taken and will take to get there.

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Carin Wilson (Ngāti Awa, Tūhourangi) is a studio furniture maker, sculptor and design educator. He was a leader in the country’s craft movement in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and helped initiate the design showcase Artiture in 1987. Wilson holds an Honorary Diploma in Art and Design from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, and in 2002 he received one of the inaugural Toi Iho marks, a registered Māori trademark of authenticity. His design practice, Studio Pasifika, has been in operation since 1993. Wilson is represented by Artis Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Kura Gallery in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. In 2000 Wilson was one of the rōpū (group) of Māori artists and designers who established Ngā Aho to bring a stronger Māori perspective to design practice in Aotearoa. Wilson was the President of the Crafts Council of New Zealand from1982-85.

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The Ockham Lecture series is an annual programme of lectures and panel discussions across different themes that critically engage with craft, design and architecture. This programme is supported by Objectspace's Lead Partner Ockham Residential.