At this artist talk, Julia will discuss her new show Botanical Correspondents: Crossing Time with Emily Harris and Julia Holderness. 

Emily Harris (1837-1925) is best-known for painting the indigenous flora of Aotearoa and produced hundreds of exquisite artworks in her studio in Whakatū Nelson. Julia will discuss her research into Emily and how she has responded creatively to her life, work and artistic practices as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s first professional woman artists.  

Julia Holderness (b.1980) lives and works in Ōtautahi Christchurch. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury in 2002 and both an Honours in Visual Arts (2015) and a Visual Arts PhD in practice-led research (2022) at AUT University. Her PhD thesis titled “Ever Present Archiving: methodologies for art histories through invention, fabrication and social practice” explores archives and their construction of art-historical narratives. Holderness critiques traditionally held divides between art historical scholarship and artistic fabrication. Her practice and outputs are often collaborative and she works alongside both historic and current artists. She exhibits throughout Aotearoa.  

Join us after this artist talk from 1pm-2pm for a special watercolour painting workshop with Julia.