Join us for a conversation between Me: Artists Paint Themselves curators Maddie Brooks Gillespie and Jaenine Parkinson.

Maddie Brooks Gillespie (she/her) is an emerging curator and academic based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She is a Master’s student in the Tāhuhu Kōrero Toi Art History programme at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, and her practice centres primarily around the interdisciplinary field of the Environmental Humanities, alongside explorations of memory, history, place and performance in art. She was the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata Liz Stringer Curatorial Intern for 2024.

Jaenine Parkinson is Head of Art at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. She has held leadership roles across public galleries, local government, and project spaces in New Zealand and internationally. From 2017–2025, she was Director of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata. Prior to that, she served as Arts, Museums and Heritage Advisor at Kāpiti Coast District Council and held directorial roles at Blue Oyster Art Project Space and an arts centre in Ottawa, Canada. Jaenine has also led numerous independent curatorial and writing projects.

Access information: The New Zealand Portrait Gallery is an accessible venue, all on one level. There is an accessible wharepaku (toilet) at the back of the venue. The gallery has automatic sliding doors and glass doors that can be pushed or pulled to enter. We have a wheelchair available for use within the gallery, and there is low stool seating throughout. You can find more accessibility information here. If you have any questions regarding accessibility or if there is something we could do to make your visit easier, please get in touch.