OM Friends – In Focus

An Association of Friends of the Otago Museum Talk.

The Friends of the Otago Museum invite you to join them over complimentary tea and coffee for their June lunchtime talk.

Bring your lunch and hear from Professor Nancy Longnecker, curator of the Dare to be Wise exhibition as she discusses how a relative newbie in Dunedin and the University curated an exhibition that celebrates 150 years of rich history.

The challenge set for Nancy was to be inclusive across divisions, and to highlight Town-Gown links and collaborations with the Museum. And then there was the challenge of the different campuses...

Nancy will describe the process of brainstorming and consulting that led to an exhibition which includes all eras, all divisions, and staff and students across all levels. The publication by OU Press of Alison Clarke’s Otago – 150 Years of New Zealand’s First University was a godsend. Nancy used it so much that she kept two copies, one at her university office and one in her home study to avoid carrying the weighty tome back and forth.

Many generous people shared artefacts, stories and memorabilia and Nancy will describe what she learned about the scandalous introduction of mixed flatting, life-changing facial reconstruction surgery, bottle rocket wars, campus childcare, secret WWI tunnels, people behind the scenes who make it all possible, and about turning this knowledge into the Dare to be Wise exhibition.