New Curatorial and Collections Manager Sian van Dyk, is thrilled to be returning to Palmerston North’s Te Manawa Museum, where she previously worked as Assistant Curator more than a decade ago. She says it will be something of a professional homecoming.

With more than 15 years curatorial experience in the museum and gallery sector, Sian brings a wealth of knowledge in exhibition development, collections management, funding and the visual arts.

Sian has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Otago School of Art and a Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies from Massey University in Palmerston North. She last worked at Te Manawa as Assistant Curator from 2007-2011.

She says this new position combines aspects of museum practice that she finds most rewarding.

“Working at other iconic institutions like The Sarjeant Gallery and The Dowse Art Museum has made me passionate about exploring meaningful, relevant narratives in collections and via exhibition making,” she says. “There is incredible potential for museums to make a real difference in the way people view the world, along with their contribution to, and place in it.

“This is an exciting opportunity to bring my experience back to a place that enabled me to flourish as an emerging curator.”

With a special interest in contemporary art and craft, Sian has curated approximately 70 exhibitions during her career and written extensively about exhibitions and artists across Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas.

She joins the management team at Te Manawa in August.