From the MTG: Jessica Mio

THE SISTERS: Ruth and Gwen Nelson (later Gwen Malden) in 1939.

One of the many wonderful aspects of exhibitions are the conversations they spark between members of the public and staff here at the museum - both before and after they open.

Our current show, featuring hundreds of collection artworks, Out of the Box, has been particularly stimulating in this way: visitors have seen works by artists they knew and have since passed away, sharing their memories of them and giving us fascinating insights into artists' characters. It's great to record these for use in future exhibitions or as material for researchers to draw on.

Other visitors have let us know about the works they own by artists who are represented in the exhibition, and kindly offered to bring these in and show us. A great way to utilise this willingness to share is to develop an exhibition of art made up solely of works held in homes across Hawke's Bay.

Hastings City Art Gallery is organising just such a show, opening in March next year and featuring art owned by 18 different collectors. I'm looking forward to seeing this and thinking about how it might inspire a similarly community-based show here at the museum.

One avenue that would be great to explore is the Art Deco treasures that are privately owned. Our exhibition Speedlines and Ziggurats, which looks at the Art Deco homes of Hawke's Bay, has been a great catalyst for people sharing not only their knowledge about our region's domestic architecture, but also the Deco objects they have and would be happy to see on display at the museum. It'd be great to hear from more of you who own authentic pieces from that period - whether or not you'd be willing to lend them!

Another exhibition that has sparked some rich dialogue is one that our social history curator, Gail Pope, and I are curating together on the remarkable sisters Ruth Nelson and Gwen Malden (née Nelson).

Together Ruth and Gwen owned the local Kereru Station, with each setting up a trust to use the profits from the farm for philanthropic purposes. They were both generous supporters of the museum during their lifetimes and as a result we have two spaces in the museum bearing their names: the Nelson Gallery and the adjacent Malden Gallery.

We have been out to visit relations of the late sisters, as well as some of the many beneficiaries of the two trusts (which continue to support a range of community organisations), and people who own artworks by them.

Gwen was a prolific painter all her life and her work is well represented in the collection, while Ruth was a wood carver.

Ruth's carvings are rarer than Gwen's paintings, and often created as part of a building - such as a mantelpiece, front door, or the magnificent carved altar of the chapel at Woodford House (the school she attended as a student).

As a result of the rarity and the often fixed nature of these carvings, we don't hold any examples in the collection and have had to think carefully about how we'll represent Ruth's creativity equally well in the exhibition.

Luckily we've had some generous offers to lend smaller, portable objects that were carved by Ruth. It'd be great to hear from anyone who has other works that we might be able to photograph or borrow - as well as memories of the sisters they'd like to share. We're looking forward to presenting the sisters' artworks and stories to the public when the exhibition opens in April next year.

A range of activities for children is available at the museum during the school holidays.
MTG will be closed on Christmas Day, otherwise open every day with the normal opening hours of 10am to 5pm.

Jessica Mio is art curator of the Museum Theatre Gallery (MTG) Hawke's Bay.