Associate Professor Ian Conrich

Contact: Ian Conrich

    In addition to the conferences that Ian has organised, he has worked with national and regional museums in the UK, Norway and Australia, curating exhibitions with strong outreach and educational objectives aimed at the general public and schools. Ian has also worked with five international film festivals as a curator, consultant, and jury member. These include the London Film Festival, Hawai'i International Film Festival, the St Tropez Film Festival, and the Era New Horizons Film Festival, in Wroclaw, Poland.

    Exhibitions curated

    1. 11/10/14 - 23/11/14 - Easter Island, Myths, and Popular Culture, held at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney. Exhibition opened by the Chilean Embassy, Australia, and the mayor of Liverpool.
    2. 9/11/10 - 26/11/10 - Easter Island, Myths, and Popular Culture, held at Canning House, London. Exhibition supported by the Chilean Embassy, London.
    3. At the opening of the Easter Island exhibition
      at Canning House, London

    4. 5/3/11 - 4/9/11 - Easter Island, Myths, and Popular Culture, held at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, Middlesbrough. Exhibition supported by the Chilean Embassy, London.
    5. Reviews

      Presented as part of A Feast of Culture: The best arts events over the Easter break

      The Independent


      With exhibition assistant curators Teresa Jambur, Roy smith and Martyn Harris

      At the opening of the Easter Island exhibition at the Captain
      Cook Birthplace Museum

    6. 6/10/11 - 31/3/12 - Easter Island, Myths, and Popular Culture, held at the Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo, Norway. Exhibition supported by the Chilean Embassies, London and Oslo.

    7. May 2012 to Sept. 2012 - Easter Island, Myths, and Popular Culture, to be held at the Museo Antropologico P. Sebastian Englert, on Easter Island.

    8. Currently in discussions to curate a series of exhibitions on the Pitcairn Islands, and on the different film versions of the Mutiny on the Bounty. Exhibitions supported by the British government, and the Pitcairn Islands Council.

    Film festivals - curator, consultant, jury member

    1. 28 November - 3 December 2016 - Special guest for the 11th Jogja Asian Film Festival, on Islandscapes, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Invited to give two public lectures on Oceanic film.



    2. 15-27 October 2009 - Invited member of the NETPAC jury judging the best Asian film by a first-time director, at the Hawai'i International Film Festival.
    3. May 2009 - Consultant and co-organiser for the London-wide Origins festival of Indigenous performance culture. Involvement included arranging film availability and venues, introducing screenings, public interviews with guest filmmakers, and chairing a discussion on Indigenous film with directors Alanis Obomsawin and Vilsoni Hereniko.


    4. March 2009 - Curator of a retrospective of New Zealand film for Israel, showing in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem. Involvement included arranging film availability introducing screenings, and being a guest speaker for a panel on New Zealand film. For this event, I worked closely with the New Zealand Embassy in Ankara, and the New Zealand Film Commission. Guests included Vincent Ward, John Barnett, and Craig Potton.
    5. Reviews

      "attracted a very large crowd, filling the Cinematheque’s grand theater nearly to capacity"

      Midnight East

      "greatly welcomed and the screenings a genuine surprise"

      NZSA Bulletin of New Zealand Studies


      Outside the front entrance of the Jerusalem Cinematheque


      At the opening night for the festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, with (left to right) Jon Boock, John Barnett, Craig Potton, Yvonne Koslovsky-Golan, Vincent Ward.

    6. October 2008 - Co-curator of a festival of International Gothic films at the Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling. Involvement included arranging film availability, introducing screenings, giving a presentation on New Zealand Gothic film, and chairing a panel discussion, with novelists and filmmakers including Louise Welsh and David Blyth, on the topic of Gothic horror.

    7. Chairing a panel on the Gothic

    8. July 2008 - Curator of an 83 film retrospective of New Zealand cinema, in Wroclaw, Poland. This was the largest retrospective of New Zealand film ever and generated significant media interest across central and Eastern Europe Involvement included arranging film availability, introducing screenings for many of the film screenings, public interviews with guest New Zealand filmmakers including Vincent Ward, Roger Donaldson, Oscar Kightley, Robert Sarkies, and Leon Narbey. It also involved chairing a panel on the New Zealand film industry and giving a range of television and press interviews. The screenings were part of the 8th Era New Horizons Film Festival, and for this event I worked closely with a range of industry bodies in Poland and New Zealand, including the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw.
    9. Reviews

      "an amazing display of New Zealand cinema"

      NZSA Bulletin of New Zealand Studies

      "a beautiful thing"

      Onfilm


      With cinematographer and director Leon Narbey (centre), discussing New Zealand
      films at the festival, with members of the public


      With actress Donogh Rees, introducing her work

      With director Robert Sarkies, introducing his work

    10. October 2007 - Special guest of the St Tropez film festival, with a focus on New Zealand film.

    11. October 2006 - Consultant working with the London Film Festival and the festival major sponsor, Air New Zealand, to foreground New Zealand film in a special festival focus. This included gala screenings and chairing a panel discussion on the New Zealand film industry with speakers including filmmakers Roger Donaldson, Kerry Fox, and Toa Fraser.
    12. Chairing a panel discussion on New Zealand film

    Study Schools organised

    1. 8-15/09/02 - A one week series of seminars and events on British Contemporary Drama for a group of 35 Danish teachers of English. Organised at the request of the Danish Association of Teachers of English, and held at University of Surrey Roehampton.