Ten Questions with Bruce Phillips
Written by Sarah Bing
Ten Questions with Bruce Phillips
Bruce Phillips is the Curator at Te Tuhi. Fresh from travels and exploration in Europe, Bruce is an avid downhill skateboarder, great advocate for Art, Artists and Communities and has been described as an all-round nice guy.
How would you describe your practice? Is it a profession, a passion, a calling?
For me curating is both a profession and an opportunity to learn about art and the world.
In terms of your accomplishments, which do you consider to be most significant?
Accomplishment for me is less of a destination and more of a journey. Every exhibition or artist project is significant to me. But overall, a major influence for me has been my ongoing relationship with the Hyde Park Art Centre in Chicago.
What are the resources, and who is it that keeps you supported?
Te Tuhi is a registered charitable trust that generates its own income and is partially funded by the Auckland City Council. Te Tuhi is a dynamic arts hub that holds exhibitions, events and runs art and interior design classes. Te Tuhi also has spaces for hire for local community groups and offers long term leases to cultural organsiations such as the Manukau Symphony Orchestra.
How do you find the art scene in NZ, what are its strengths and weaknesses?
New Zealand has a really vibrant and diverse art scene. Our strength is that we have a strong conceptual rigor coupled with humility and a DIY attitude. Our weakness is that we can often be a bit too humble and are not very good at celebrating our achievements. We also not very good at accepting criticism - we need encourage and to support a healthy critical discourse.
How do you select the artists whom you work with?
I work closely with my Director James McCarthy to consider the artists we work with. Our mandate is to support the creation of innovative art, so we work very hard to select artists that can work with us to achieve this aim.
Te Tuhi is physically located in an area with a strong sense of community, much like us here at The Depot. What are your thoughts on the relationship that art and its creators and enablers have with the surrounding community? Of course it is a mutual relationship, but overall do you believe that art has or should have a sense of responsibility to those who engage with it, or should it be the other way around?
I firmly believe that there is no one fixed role for either art, the artist or community. Both art and community is never static and is always changing, so it is important that our understanding of the two is constantly redefined and questioned. For instance, Te Tuhi engages with many different communities across the Auckland region and also nationally. So we are always careful to remember our diversity and to resist homogeneous notions for 'community'. Likewise we are aware of the diversity of current artistic practice within New Zealand and internationally. What excites me about working in an innovative art gallery like Te Tuhi is that the relationship between art and community is less like a transaction and more like a vibrant conversation that continually challenges and inspirers.
What work/concepts/people do you find inspiring?
Conceptually, I have been inspired by new findings coming out of the field of cognitive psychology. I recently curated a group exhibition called What do you mean, we? that investigated the psychology of prejudice earlier this year which grew out of that interest.
I have also been greatly inspired by a recent show from the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth called True Stories/Scripted Realities, curated by Mercedes Vicente. A really interesting exhibition of video work that questions the role of the documentary as a representation of reality. This exhibition will be touring to Te Tuhi in August this year.
What is your vision for your career?
To continue working closely with artists to produce new work.
If there were no obstacles of any kind: financial, relational, practical etc what would you do, or begin to do tomorrow?
I would spend the day trying to figure that out.
Do you have any advice for aspiring curators or artists?
Make your own opportunities don't wait for them to come to you.
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