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Dagmar Dyck

Bio

dagmar dyck

Dagmar Dyck is a first generation New Zealander born with art in her blood. Her German father was a house painter and her Tongan grandmother a 'tutu’, meaning one who beats tapa. Dagmar and her son Ercan Cairns continue this family legacy - in 1995, Dagmar was the first woman of Tongan descent to graduate from Elam School of Fine Arts, at The University of Auckland.

Wearer of multiple hats, Dagmar is both an artist, researcher, social justice advocate and art educator at Sylvia Park School for the last 10 years. Dagmar's heart lies in her community and heritage, which has directed the focus of her artistic practice and studies.

Dagmar's latest hand-stencilled, limited edition screen prints are the result of a Marsden project, which entailed studying objects of exchange and encounters between Europeans and Tongan islanders in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The title of both of these prints reference a composition written by Her Majesty Late Queen Salote Tupou III, 'Mata Me'a Fo'oua' - 'Seeing New Things', on a trip to attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

In the composition Queen Salote describes the beautiful scenery that she has witnessed and how, despite the distance, how the memory of Tonga, overflowing with goodness, doesn't escape her.

CV

EDUCATION

  1. Master of Professional Studies (Education) (Hons) 2019, University of Auckland
  2. Graduate Diploma Teaching (Primary) 2009, Victoria University
  3. Post-graduate Diploma of Fine Arts 1995
  4. Bachelor of Fine Arts 1991-94, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland

      SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITION

      2019
      1. Works, Miranda Gallery, Thames
      2017
      1. Un/trained Thoughts, Warwick Henderson Gallery, Auckland
      2016
      1. Kofukofu Koloa, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland
      2014
      1. Between the Lines, Northart Gallery, Auckland
      2. From Ngatu to Self, Galerie Winkler, Papeete, Tahiti
      2012
      1. New works, Flagstaff Gallery, Aucklandd

      SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITION

      2022
      1. Patterns of the past, formatting the future, Fibre Gallery, Christchurch
      2. Sunday Girl, Corban Estate Art Centre
      3. Pacific Print Project, Global Community
      4. Peau Kula, Online Tongan Arts Fundraiser
      2021
      1. ‘Amui ‘i Mu’a - Ancient Futures, The Wallace Arts Centre, (with Filipe Tohi)
      2019
      1. ‘Amui ‘ Mu’a - Ancient Futures, Me’a ‘Ofa Gallery, Nuku’alofa, Tonga
      2018
      1. Whānau, Miranda Farm Gallery, Thames,(Fatu Feu’u/Helen Feu’u/Ercan Cairns)
      2016
      1. Tonga ‘I Onopooni: Tonga Contemporary, City Gallery, Invercargill
      2015
      1. Tonga ‘I Onopooni: Tonga Contemporary, Ashburton Gallery, Ashburton
      2. Tonga ‘I Onopooni: Tonga Contemporary, Aigantighe Gallery, Timaru
      3. Scrum Down-Print Forward: RWC Print, Northern Print, United Kingdom
      2014
      1. Tonga ‘I Onopooni: Tonga Contemporary, Pataka Museum, Wellington
      2013
      1. Between the lines, Solander Gallery, Wellington, (with Cerisse Palagi)
      2. Patterns of Exchange, Flagstaff Gallery, Auckland (with Sheyne Tuffery)
      3. Made in Oceania - Tapa Art and Social Landscapes, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum – Cultures of the World, Cologne, Germany
      4. No’o Fakataha, ‘Atenisi University, Nuku’alofa, Tonga

      AWARD, RESIDENCY AND COMMISSION

      2022
      1. Leadership New Zealand Programme - Creative New Zealand Scholarship, 2022
      2016 - 2020
      1. Marsden Fund - Selected Investigator Artist for ‘Ancient Futures: Late 18th & early 19th Century Tongan arts and their legacies’
      2014
      1. Creative New Zealand CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC ART AWARD, 2014