Zoe Black

Deputy director, Objectspace, Auckland

Zoe Black started working at Objectspace, one of the leading galleries dedicated to craft, design and architecture in New Zealand, in 2019, as Maukuuku community development coordinator, before rising to the position of deputy director in 2021. Her main interest lies in Indigenous craft practices: she is a member of the Indigenous Curatorial Collective, works with the advocacy group Art Makers Aotearoa and contributes to cultural initiatives through governance, advisory roles and writing. Through her relationship with Norwegian Crafts – particularly her position as curator in residence there between 2020 and 2022 – Black has led the way in forging dialogues between Maori and Sami craft traditions. She organised the programme ‘Stories of Making: Across the Ocean, Over the Mountain’ in 2020 and spearheaded the New Zealand tour of an exhibition of work by the Maori artist Maungarongo Te Kawa earlier this year. In May, Black began leading a cultural exchange project, travelling around Sweden and New Zealand with the Sami artist and architect Joar Nango, which will culminate in an exhibition at Objectspace in December that explores common threads between Maori and Sami architectural practices.

See more 40 Under 40 Craft Thinkers