Public Art Panel members

Janet is the director of the Mahara Gallery, the Kāpiti District gallery, since 2006. She has been the Mahara Gallery Trust’s representative on the Public Art Panel since its establishment.

Janet has worked as an independent curator specialising in photography, and lectured in photographic histories, design and critical theory at Massey University (2000–02) and UCOL (formerly Manawatū Polytechnic) 1994–99.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (1976) and a Master of Fine Arts (1979) in photography, film and art history from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, and has worked for numerous galleries and museums around New Zealand.

Janet’s vision is for public art and creativity to be fully embedded in our whole environment, creatively supporting and enhancing development. Janet sees community-led and shared projects bringing new artworks, voices and ideas to the wider community from around the motu.

Liz is the Council’s elected member representative on the Public Art Panel. Elected last year as a districtwide councillor, Liz has huge expertise in financial planning and economic development, and a strong commitment to the arts.

Liz Koh served as the Deputy Chair of the Nikau Foundation and established the Nikau Kāpiti Fund and Creative Kāpiti Fund. As a trustee of Creative Kāpiti Charitable Trust, she continues to be a keen supporter of the arts. Liz stated the mission of the Creative Kāpiti Fund to be to "promote and encourage participation in the arts to make our region a must-visit arts destination". 

Liz brings a keen strategic perspective to the panel, and an understanding of how the arts can work with local and national economic drivers.

Vianney Parata is of Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngai Tahu, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou me Ngāti Kahungunu descent. She is a mother of three and a fulltime freelance artist specialising in Taa Moko, Māori visual arts and digital design.

Under the guidance of Sian Montgomery-Nuetze, Sandy Adsett and Michelle Mataira, Vianney has completed her degree with a Maunga Kura Toi certificate and became a fulltime Taa Moko practitioner. Vianney spends her time taking care of her whānau, welcoming people into her home to receive Taa Moko, and has been tutoring Kōwhaiwhai to Te Kāhui Toi o Ngāti Toa Rangatira.

Nick is a design consultant in workplace strategy and planning, and has lived in Kāpiti since 2013. He is a member and previous committee member of the Wellington Architectural Centre, and has a personal interest in art, including attending art classes at Tutere Gallery in Waikanae.

Nick has a diverse background, with experience in interior design, accounting, IT consulting and project management, and workplace consulting. He has led projects in many government organisations to develop strategies to be used as briefs for designers and architects to deliver against. His wide experience gives him a different perspective, and his pragmatic approach lets him make fresh connections for alternative approaches and solutions.

Nick believes any art strategy should be a “strategy about community”, and be proactively connected with iwi and community.

Sandra is a practising artist with a strong background in design and business strategy and development. She has experience and skills across different areas of management, including design thinking, logistics and supply chain leadership, operational leadership, research and analysis, curating planning and organisation, and creativity design and innovation.

Sandra worked as a strategic specialist, business development, and logistics manager with Z Energy and Shell NZ, before pursuing a career in the creative and design-led sectors. She works at Mahara Gallery, helping the Board and Director develop and deliver on strategic outcomes. 

Sandra also works with Creative Manaaki as an exhibition curator and installer in Kāpiti businesses and organisations. She has her own company helping small and medium businesses grow and thrive using design-thinking principles. Sandra also has experience in heritage conservation and research, the visual arts, history, and art history.

Robin was a member of the Public Art Panel in the 2019–22 triennium. She is a highly qualified and awarded landscape architect and urban designer, with a wide experience of public multidisciplinary projects, including transport infrastructure projects and public domain design. Many of these have involved public art as an integral feature of placemaking. Robin is widely respected for her extraordinary depth and breadth of experience and skills in urban design and integration of Public Art into planning.

Currently based in Wellington, Robin is a former resident of Kāpiti, with ongoing family connections.  She has a particular interest in contributing to the flourishing cultural and creative expressions of Kāpiti communities, and successful processes and outcomes.

Ellie is a freelance arts professional and strategic consultant working in the galleries, libraries, archives,  and museums (GLAM) sector. Ellie has held roles at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Tauranga Art Gallery, and Baycourt Community and Arts Centre.

Working between Tauranga and Wellington, Ellie has most recently been working with Tauranga City Council in a strategic capacity to revise their Public Art Policy, and finalising a new Public Art Framework to guide the city’s commissioning over the next decade.

Ellie believes public art can be powerful and transformative, allowing space for communities to tell their stories, giving a sense of belonging and contributing to a vibrant living environment, and enhancing visitors’ experience of a community. She understands the potential for public art to contribute to a local economy by offering employment and income to local creatives and suppliers, and by contributing to a place’s reputation as a tourist destination.

Josie is a trained Art and Design teacher and has been an arts educator for over 22 years, spending the last 10 years in the Arts and Cultural Heritage sector. She has experience in public art delivery and strategic development, and strong links with younger artists in the community. 

Josie grew up in Paekākāriki, and is the Senior Education Officer at Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua. She has worked as Education and Community Engagement Manager in Otautahi/Christchurch for SCAPE Public Art, the largest producer of public art in Aotearoa, where she developed in-depth knowledge of all aspects of public art production and delivery, from developing briefs to working with artists and fabricators in their production, and engaged with a wide range of contemporary local, national and international artists.

Josie has experience working with both young artists and emerging artists to create temporary and public artworks.