new zealand 51

In a significant move to bolster the nation’s cybersecurity, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have officially launched the Cyber Command (CAFCYBERCOM). The announcement, made by National Defence Minister Bill Blair and General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, signals Canada’s strategic investment in cyber warfare, consolidating the CAF’s digital defence capabilities into one cohesive entity. This development promises to boost the military’s preparedness for cyber threats, enhancing both offensive and defensive operations. “The establishment of the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command demonstrates to our allies, partners, and adversaries Canada’s ongoing commitment to operating in a challenging cyber domain. By enhancing our work in the cyber domain, and by continuing to collaborate with our partners and allies, we can detect, deter, and defend against cyber threats and malicious actors targeting Canada and our interests,” said the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National...

Seinafolava Sanele Chadwick | Reporter/Director - Wellington Tonga’s Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni spent time promoting the benefits of the new Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) at a UN side event last week.  The Hon Hu’akavameiliku led Tonga’s delegation to New York for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and, as chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, he introduced the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) to members of the UN, hoping to get more support. The PRF was set up last year with Tonga recently confirmed as its administrator. It is designed to attract funding for investment from which returns can be used to grow the fund and be made available for Pacific Islands in the region impacted by climate events.  In his remarks at the meeting, the Hon Hu’akavameiliku described the PRF as, “the Pacific’s way of responding to an overly complicated global financial system struggling to deliver equitable access to climate finan...

One of the more impressive trophies of the year is on the line this week, the Don Broughton Shield for the winner of the Hurricanes U16s tournament that is being this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Levin.  After calling it this time last week (and then an extra U18s match popped up on the schedule)...

The day after Christie’s inaugurated its new Hong Kong headquarters with a $134 million evening 20th/21st century art sale, reality bit for the house, as its first 21st Century day sale brought in just $16 million plus fees. Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips have each made major investments in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the region in recent years. Sotheby’s will inaugurate its own new Hong Kong headquarters in November, and Phillips opened a new Asia headquarters in city in 2023 . It’s still too early to say whether those investments will help the houses defy the global art market’s ongoing stagnation, but ArtTactic did report recently that sales of art at Hong Kong evening sales tanked 40 percent by value during the first six months of this year compared with 12 months earlier. That was their lowest level since 2017. We should have more data soon however, as all three houses will be using their new digs to hold year-round auctions in the city, as opposed to previously holding all...

Seinafolava Sanele Chadwick | Reporter/Director - Wellington Prime Ministers and leaders from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Tuvalu took centre stage at a High level plenary meeting on day three of the 79th United Nations General Assembly summit to voice the ongoing issues of rising sea levels and the impact on Pacific nations.  And while the crisis in the middle east dominated much of the discussion during the five day summit, the Pacific reminded world leaders that climate change continues to be at the forefront for their nations, as was articulated by Tuvalu youth activist Grace Malie, who gave an impassioned speech about her country who are facing this threat every day. Grace says “it’s more than just their homes at stake, it’s our dignity, our culture, our heritage”.  

Richard Mayhew, who was known for his hazy abstract paintings that at times resembled landscapes, died on Thursday at the age of 100. The news was confirmed by his longtime representative ACA Galleries in New York, which had shown the artist since 1992. Throughout his life, Mayhew was often identified as a landscape painter, but he eschewed that title, correcting people by telling them that he was, in fact, a mindscape painter. “Because when I go to a canvas, I just put paint on there and it’s suggestive, it’s very suggestive,” he explained in a 2019 oral history as part of the Getty Research Institute’s African American Art History Initiative. “Since I’m involved with the feeling of desire, ambition, love, hate, fear—that’s my paintings. It takes on that kind of structure and imagery.” He added, “I use landscape as a metaphor to express emotion. That’s it.” Mayhew’s mindscape paintings have an ethereal quality to them, in which swaths of color blend into each other. At times, the...

More than 100 artists, curators, art historians, academics and other art professionals have signed an open letter asking for two Just Stop Oil protestors to avoid being sentenced to jail. In October 2022, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland threw cans of Heinz tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers and glued their hands to the wall below the painting at the National Gallery in London. While there was no damage to the painting itself, prosecutors said the antique 17th-century Italian frame was damaged  as a result of the protest. Plummer and Holland were charged with criminal damage and convicted earlier this year . Judge Christopher Hehir of Southwark Crown Court told Plummer and Holland, both 22 years of age, to be “prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison”. The letter, organized by Greenpeace UK and the art collective Liberate Tate, was published on September 26, one day before Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland are scheduled to be sentenced. Liberate Tate is...

Officials of the Republic of Yemen have placed a group of artifacts recently repatriated from a private collection on a long-term loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Researchers believe that the group of 14 loaned sculptures, estimated to have been created between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, were used for funerary purposes, among them an incense burner carved out of limestone and a votive made from yellow alabaster. A private collection in New Zealand recently returned the stone and bronze objects to Yemeni government officials. Those overseeing the return then reached an agreement with the Met to house the artifacts at the museum temporarily due to the ongoing civil war in the country.. Officials have said that the conflict in Yemen means that the country isn’t a secure enough environment to hold the works at this time. Yemen reached a partnership deal with the New York institution in 2023, a type of loan arrangement that allows the Met to formal...

Top art collector Adrien Cheng is at risk of losing his position as CEO at his family’s Hong Kong property development firm, New World Development Co., after the company posted its first annual loss in 20 years. Cheng, a regular face on the annual  ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list , may be replaced by New World’s current Chief Operating Officer, Ma Siu-Cheung, according to a report by  Bloomberg . New World in August  predicted  that a sluggish real estate market and the resulting writedowns, an accounting technique in which an asset’s value is reduced on paper to reflect its true fair market value and to offset a loss of expense, would cost the company between $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion in losses at the end of the fiscal year. Cheng joined the family business in 2007 as an executive director and, in 2020, was named chief executive. In 2019, Cheng founded the K11 group, an art-meets-commerce-and-development initiative. K11 was responsible for initiatives like th...

Last week Art in America celebrated the release of the fourth annual ”New Talent” issue with a cocktail party at the W Union Square, a member of the Luxury Group by Marriott. Each year, Art in America ’s editorial team highlights 20 artists whose great work and dedication to their practice makes them stand out above the rest. This year we celebrated the issue with a fireside chat between Art in America Editor-in-Chief Sarah Douglas and New York–based artist Madeline Peckenpaugh. Peckenpaugh was highlighted in Art in America ’s 2023 ”New Talent” issue and offered insight on how her practice has developed one year later as well as what it is like to be an artist today, in an ever-changing market and art-world ecosystem. Peckenpaugh, who describes her paintings as “abstract landscapes,” spoke about the beginnings of her career and studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art and then at the Rhode Island School of Design; her technique of working on several canvases at once; and her se...

ARTnews  has announced that it will launch a new  ARTnews Asia edition next year, by way of a partnership with Luxetech Ventures, a global venture builder concentrated on the luxury industry and the art market. Headquartered in Hong Kong, China, the new digital edition will be devoted to covering the art market and culture scenes in Southeast Asia, Macau, and Korea through web, mobile, social media, and livestream events. It expects to reach a diverse, multicultural community spanning 900 million people. “We’re thrilled to expand the footprint of ARTnews to Asia where the contemporary art scene is a reflection of the region’s rich cultural heritage and modernity,” Luke Bahrenburg, president of luxury sales at Penske Media Corporation, said in a statement.  “Cities like Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur are burgeoning as vibrant and dynamic international art centers, displaying an array of styles, mediums, and perspectives and we look forward to shining a light on this re...

Vienna-born curator Fanny Hauser has been named the next director of the Kunsthalle Zürich, taking the place of Daniel Baumann, who will be leaving the museum after ten years to work on curatorial projects independently, the museum announced. Hauser will start the new position in January 2025. Currently the deputy director at Ludwig Forum in Aachen, Germany, Hauser is leaving the modern art foundation just more than two years after taking up the position in May 2022. She started her work as a curator in 2016 when she co-founded the contemporary art-focused Kunstverein Kevin Space in Vienna, where she co-curated exhibitions on artists with increasing international reach. Hauser organized shows for Ioana Nemeș, a Romanian artist based in Bucharest, Chinese artists Peng Zuqiang and Evelyn Taocheng Wang who are based in the U.S and Netherlands, respectively, and Algerian artist Lydia Ourahmane, among others. Before coming to Ludwig Forum, Hauser worked as a curatorial assistant for docu...

The Wellington Centurions U18s captured the Hurricanes 18s Division A Trustbank Secondary School Shield in a last-play thriller at Lyndhurst Park on Saturday. The Centurions scored a try with the final play of the match to give them a 30-26 win and the title. The try to replacement wing Sean Carter gave the Centurions a...

Three bronze shields and one bronze helmet dating back 2,700 years were found by archaeologists excavating an ancient castle in Turkey, the country’s minister of culture and tourism announced on   Instagram  and  X earlier this month. Ayanis Castle was a fortress near Lake Van in eastern Turkey erected by the Kingdom of Urartu (also known as the Kingdom of Van). At the height of its success, between the ninth and sixth centuries B.C.E., the kingdom was known for its military prowess and metalwork. The shields and helmet were found in a temple complex devoted to Haldi, the chief god of Urartu, and were left as offerings to the god. These are hardly the first or most extensive finds at the site, which included the discovery of a miniature bronze chariot likely used for transporting a cultic statue just last year. “This castle is proving to be the richest Urartian site in Turkey for many reasons, not the least of which is the quantity of bronzes associated with the temp...

Top Shelf band from Manurewa High School. Photo: Chontelle Musson It’s been Smokefreerockquest’s biggest year yet, with nearly 900 school aged bands competing across Aotearoa to win the prestigious title of National Winners.  On Saturday the Top 10 National Finalists performed at Sky City Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau – with Top Shelf from Manurewa High School crowned this year’s winning band. Top Shelf are fresh off the back of winning first place in last weekend’s Smokefree Tangata Beats competition. Top Shelf guitarist Taparia Engu said, “It feels bloody amazing. I can’t describe it. If I’m honest, watching the show I’d already surrendered because the other bands were just so good”. Taparia Engu was also awarded the inaugural Chloe Wright Scholarship, which he plans to use to pursue audio engineering studies at SAE. Offered for the first time this year, the scholarship provides financial support for one student for up to three years of tertiary education at any New Zealand in...

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), backed by Arcline Investment Management, is set to acquire the Naval Propulsors and Handling business from Rolls-Royce . This strategic move significantly broadens FMD’s portfolio by bringing in Rolls-Royce’s advanced naval propulsion systems, including cutting-edge propellers, waterjets, and marine handling technologies. These systems are integral to naval operations, aiding in the deployment and retrieval of both manned and unmanned vessels, along with other crucial equipment from naval ships. “When you look at the 150-year history of Fairbanks Morse Defense, you will find a handful of distinctive moments that completely transformed this company. We believe the acquisition of Rolls-Royce naval propulsors and handling businesses will become one of those moments,” said George Whittier, CEO of Fairbanks Morse Defense. “The way that our products and services complement each other is unmatched in the defense industrial base. Combining our capabilities allo...

Gladys Hartson | Senior Journalist Making sure families have a healthy home is a key focus for a new programme helping Pasifika families in South Auckland. The recently launched Pacific Healthy Homes initiative is set to support more than 500 families. The initiative is an extension of the Health Homes Initiative funded by Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ.  AWHI started as a pilot initiative in Auckland over 10 years ago to reduce household crowding and provide warm, dry, and healthy homes and is now a well established successful programme for enhancing the health and wellbeing of families in South Auckland and Waikato.  AWHI Relationship lead for the Pacific Healthy Home initiative Evita Toala says, it is great to have a programme that caters to the older Pasifika communities.  “The current one is for young people aged 0 to 19 and started as a rheumatic fever prevention project,” she says. “Now that that’s expanded and fully established, we’ve been fortunate for ...

The Wellington U85kgs after their match with the North Harbour U85kgs for the ingaurgal Cooney Cup on Saturday.   Monday morning edition – updates expected: And just like that, that is pretty much the end of the line for local rugby in Wellington for 2024. Just some seven tournaments to come in October and November...

A man destroyed a porcelain sculpture by Ai Weiwei seemingly on purpose during the opening reception of an exhibition dedicated to the Chinese dissident artist on Friday evening in Italy. The destroyed work was Ai’s blue-and-white Porcelain Cube , which was included in a survey on Ai titled “Who am I?” at the Palazzo Fava in Bologna, which opened to the public on Saturday. Footage of the destruction was captured on CCTV and posted to Instagram by Ai. In the video, the man steps onto the plinth that holds the Cube and pushes it forward, shattering the work. He then lifted up a portion of the broken porcelain over his head. The work was installed in an atrium near the museum giftshop and ticket office. The Bologna edition of Milan-based daily newspaper Corriere della Sera identified the man as 57-year-old Czech Vaclav Pisvejc, who was stopped by museum security and detained until police arrived. It is still unclear how he entered the museum during the invite-only reception. He...

First Dancing With The Stars , now internet icon and comedian Ziwe Fumudoh: Anna Delvey is apparently on a press tour. The 33-year-old Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, appeared in an extended interview with Ziwe, published to YouTube on Tuesday, to talk about her many scams. Delvey was convicted of larceny, grand theft, and financial crimes in 2019, and sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison, then released in 2022. In early 2022, she went about monetizing her infamy,  hosting an art show  while still in detention and adapting her life and cons into  the Netflix miniseries   Inventing Anna  by Shonda Rhimes. By December 2022,  Delvey had sold $340,000 worth  of paintings and drawings. Since her release, Delvey has been held on house arrest, though that hasn’t stopped her from hosting lavish dinner parties at her East Village apartment, starting a podcast, and last September  hosting a fashion show  on her rooftop. Earlier this month, ...

After months of accusations of sexual misconduct and other allegations, Sean “Diddy” Combs was charged Tuesday on three counts: racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to legal documents. He is expected to appear before a judge Tuesday morning, where the charges will be read. If convicted, Combs would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, and a maximum of life. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, told TMZ outside the the courthouse on Tuesday that he will “fight like hell” to free his client on bail, and asserted that Combs is innocent. Combs is charged with “a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse towards women and other individuals.” According to the indictment, Combs “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, sometimes by their hair.” The  indictment  alleges that Combs and his associates would threaten and coerce victims into participating in days-long sex even...

A hoard of 14 antiquities, collectively valued at more than $8.3 million, were returned to Turkey by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. on September 12, according to the district attorney’s office . The objects in question were linked to several ongoing investigations, among them, a trafficking network that systemically looted the ancient city of Bubon in Turkey and trafficked the works to New York. Pieces connected to an investigation of convicted trafficker Richard Beale were also seized. The archaeological site Bubon houses a shrine dedicated to venerating Roman emperors. Throughout the 1960s, the city was subjected to substantial looting. Among the most substantial artifacts returned was a 3rd century CE statue of a bearded man’s head, which was taken in 1966 and smuggled by Turkish traffickers on behalf of Robert Hecht; it was later sold by New York-based dealer Matthias Komor to a private collector, who donated the piece to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. A stat...

Photo: Broadcasting Standards Authority New research released by the Broadcasting Standards Authority shows  diverse communities avoid public broadcasts due to experiences with offensive or harmful content. More than three-quarters of Māori (79%), Pacific Peoples (85%), Asians (76%) and Muslims (75%) surveyed by the BSA feel exposure to offensive, discriminatory or controversial views is a problem in New Zealand. About a third of Māori, Pacific Peoples and Muslims, and 21% of Asians, have read, seen or heard such views shared publicly in the past six months. Examples include inciting conflict, reinforcing stereotypes, misinformation, unbalanced reporting and jokes or attacks about people’s differences. More than half say they avoid viewing or listening to TV or radio because there’s too much misinformation and inappropriate content (Māori 55%, Pacific 50%, Asian 52%, Muslim 52%). Social media, however, is the most cited platform for seeing offensive material (and considered ...

Wellington Centurions U18s openside flanker Drew Berg-McLean makes a run for it in his team’s 30-27 win over the Hawke’s Bay U18s on Saturday. More on the New Zealand Schools, Barbarians and Māori U18s selections announced late last week below.  A tough afternoon yesterday on the couch for Wellington rugby supporters. It could be said...

Tagata Pasifika | Television Series Signature Choir wins the 531pi Best Pacific Gospel Artist award at the 2024 Pacific Music Awards.

Richard Pettibone, a painter whose enigmatic work involved copying famed contemporary artworks and then exhibiting these smaller-scale lookalikes, died on August 19 at 86. A representative for New York’s Castelli Gallery, which has shown Pettibone since 1969, said he died following a fall. During the 1960s, well before the heyday of appropriation art two decades later, Pettibone began making replicas of paintings by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and others. Unlike Sturtevant, another artist famous for duplicating well-known pieces by giants of contemporary art, Pettibone produced objects that were clearly different in size from the originals. Many of Pettibone’s paintings were far smaller than their source materials. This choice was part of Pettibone’s conceptual game of determining what constitutes value. Notably, he began this project during the ’60s, at a time when the art market was greatly expanding. The work was only partially intended as parody. “Stella thinks ...

New York dealer Per Skarstedt will move into a Chelsea space that formerly housed Cheim & Read, a gallery that shuttered last year after 26 years in business. Skarstedt will continue to run his Upper East Side space on East 79th Street, according to Kenny Shachter, who first reported the news in his Artnet column. Skarstedt, whose roster includes artists like Eric Fischl, KAWS, David Salle, and Martin Kippenberger, has secured a $13.5 million deal to move into the West 25th Street gallery location. The 6,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Richard Gluckman, was listed for $15 million in May. The move is a big change for Skarstedt, which will now be closer to many of its peers. Skarstedt also has a gallery in London. His gallery’s expansion comes as many others are leaving Chelsea. In the past few years, many galleries have departed for Tribeca, where a sprawling network of spaces is now sited. That neighborhood currently hosts galleries such as James Cohan, Andrew K...