Tēnā koutou!
Associate Professor Cecilia Novero
I am Cecilia Novero, Associate Professor at the University of Otago, in the Programme of Languages and Cultures, and this is the first Blog post of our Network of Cultures, Histories, and Identities in Visual Studies.
Welcome to our Blog!
By way of introduction, let me briefly introduce myself: Italian of birth, after graduating with an MA from the University of Turin, and following a year-long stay in the former German Democratic Republic (East Berlin), I moved to the US for my doctoral studies at the University of Chicago, in the 1990s. After holding various positions in tertiary education in the US, I arrived in New Zealand / Aotearoa in 2008.
My academic interests have always been animated by my deep-seated passion for modern and contemporary art, especially the historical Avantgarde and the neo-Avantgarde movements in Europe and the US, and performance art. I pursued these interests through professional and academic work (from employment at Allemandi & Co, in Turin via the Italian Cultural Institute and the Renaissance Society in Chicago, through my own scholarly research, and my collaborations on editorial boards of visual culture journals, etc.
In Dunedin, some of you might have met me through my participation in the research activities of the Dunedin School of Art. Some might have spotted me at one or other exhibition’s opening. My connections with the Dunedin School of Art have evolved slowly over the years thanks to the events organized by the School, whether seminars, conferences, exhibitions, or workshops and international symposia.
The University of Otago too used to have a vibrant Programme of Visual Culture –thanks to Prof Hilary Radner. Unfortunately, it no longer exists due to the closure of the Programme of Art History a few years back. Because, however, our love for the arts at University has not subsided and, in fact, our connections with the Dunedin School of Art and the arts in Dunedin more broadly in Dunedin have only flourished since, the time has come for us to celebrate our shared interests and to solidify our long-standing connections and activities through a formal “network”. So here we stand now, ready for new collaborative undertakings.
This blog is thus intended to share information, ideas, suggestions, and updates on your work, short articles, or other media links, among all Network’s members. Feel free to contribute your knowledge and experience about the arts and the art worlds that have shaped the cultural life of Dunedin, of the country of New Zealand, and also of those other places that we have come to appreciate on our personal and/or professional journeys.
Thank you for your attention, I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments! Cecilia Novero, PhD
PS: to start sharing links, here is a link to the video recording of a keynote presentation I held on zoom, in 2021 on the occasion of a city-wide series of events devoted to Smell and sponsored by the Künstlerhaus Bremen. (Note: it starts with an introduction in German but the talk is in English)
CONTACT:
Cecilia Novero, Associate Professor, University of Otago;
Hilary Radner, Emeritus Professor, University of Otago;
Federico Freschi, Professor, Otago Polytechnic
Coordinator and Multimedia Editor: Dr Radhika Raghav
EMAIL: visual-studies@otago.ac.nz
