André Chumko | The Post

Jaenine Parkinson is the new chief executive of Museums Aotearoa.

In May last year, Jaenine Parkinson left her job as director of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, a position she’d held for nearly eight years, to become the head of art at Te Papa.

Just months after accepting her new job, Parkinson was told her role would be disestablished, part of a significant restructure the national museum embarked on in a bid to cut its costs.

Now, Parkinson is again stepping into a new role ‒ this time, as the chief executive of Museums Aotearoa ‒ the membership organisation representing and advocating on behalf of New Zealand’s galleries and museums.

“I was reflecting on my short time at Te Papa. Despite it all, I still really valued the opportunity to be in there. And the reason I still showed up every day is just because of the huge potential ‒ the huge wealth [of knowledge]. It’s meaningful,” Parkinson tells The Post.

She believes museums and galleries have the power to challenge narratives, connect cultures, and share stories and knowledge that matter.

“In life, you can have your needs taken care of. But if you don’t have that meaning piece filled, then what’s the point?”

Meaning and museums go hand-in-hand for Parkinson, who has spent two decades working in the world of GLAM ‒ galleries, libraries, archives and museums.

Before the Portrait Gallery, she had a stint as arts, museums and heritage adviser at Kāpiti Coast District Council; she was the exhibition attendant for Lisa Reihana’s show at the 2017 Venice Biennale; she was the exhibitions project coordinator at the Auckland Art Gallery for several years; and before all that she was director of an art project space called Blue Oyster in Dunedin.

She also worked in various cultural spaces in Canada, including a performing arts centre located within a deconsecrated cathedral.

Born in Kāpiti north of Wellington and having gone to Paraparaumu College, Parkinson is keenly aware of museums’ relationships with communities, particularly in the regions.

Coming into her new role, she wants to see a demonstrated commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi across the sector, alongside deeper recognition of the quality and impact of the work museums and galleries already do.

She says pressures facing cultural institutions are mostly the same ones that other organisations are dealing with: the rising cost of living, climate change, quake-prone buildings, a lack of investment, a lack of space, a loss of expertise overseas.

All these issues are in Parkinson’s sights, as she takes the leadership and advocacy reins for the sector.

But perhaps topping all this, are the pressures that are on local government.

“Museums and galleries, except for Te Papa, are in partnership with local government,” Parkinson says. “When pressure is pushed on local government, it just filters in. It’s a very symbiotic relationship.”

Image: MONIQUE FORD / THE POST