These and other questions will be addressed when Victoria University of Wellington hosts a series of lively public discussions exploring primary products’ place in the national imagination and how they define us as New Zealanders.
The weekly Butcher Shop Series begins with meat on Monday 1 May before going on to look at the influence wine (8 May), dairy (15 May) and wool (22 May) also have on New Zealand life.
Leading figures from the worlds of primary production, fashion and advertising are among the speakers joining Victoria researchers for the series, which is free to attend (although it is essential to register) and will be broadcast later on RNZ National.
The series has been devised and organised by the team leading Victoria’s ‘Enriching national culture’ area of research focus.
“Victoria University is at the forefront of vigorous, imaginative and challenging research on our national culture and what it means to be a New Zealander,” says the team’s Professor Charlotte Macdonald, who is coordinating The Butcher Shop Series.
“These discussions are an opportunity for researchers across different disciplines—art history, intellectual property, international relations and design—to explore alongside invited speakers and members of the public what social and cultural weight New Zealand’s long economic dependence on primary products continues to carry in the twenty-first century.”
MEAT
Monday 1 May
Since the 1890s, we have been the land of frozen meat. The Sunday roast, the barbeque steak, spring lamb—meat has been everywhere. What is our relationship to it and how do we think about it in 2017?
Featuring Ashleigh Young, award-winning essayist (and vegetarian); Associate Professor Roger Blackley, Victoria University art historian; and Kiritapu Allan, lawyer at Kahui Legal.
Chaired by playwright and Dominion Post columnist Dave Armstrong.
WINE
Monday 8 May
From beer swillers to wine sippers—is the change in our drinking habits the real revolution in New Zealand?
Featuring Neil McCallum, founder of Dry River Wines; John Saker, wine writer and author of How to Drink a Glass of Wine; and Professor Susy Frankel, Chair in Intellectual Property and International Trade at Victoria University of Wellington.
Chaired by RNZ National presenter Kim Hill.
DAIRY
Monday 15 May
Milk in schools, dying waterways, trusted baby formula and the ‘Anchor family’—what does dairy mean to us and to twenty-first century Chinese consumers?
Featuring Roy Meares, creator of 1980s/90s ‘Anchor family’ advertisements; Dr Tim Mackle, Chief Executive of DairyNZ; and Dr Jason Young, Acting Director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre.
Chaired by lawyer and commentator Linda Clark.
WOOL
Monday 22 May
Sheep numbers may be plummeting but wool is passing muster in the world of high fashion—why does our high country have such a firm grip on our collective romantic imagination?
Featuring Rachel Easting and Anjali Stewart, founders of clothing label twenty-seven names; Claire Regnault, Senior Curator of New Zealand History & Culture, specialising in fashion, at Te Papa Tongarewa; and Dr Anne Galloway, Senior Lecturer in Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design and leader of the research project Counting Sheep: NZ Merino in an Internet of Things.
Chaired by Simon Morton, presenter of RNZ National’s This Way Up.
The discussions will be held from 5.30–7pm at Victoria University of Wellington, Lecture Theatre 4, Faculty of Law, Government Buildings, Pipitea Campus, 55 Lambton Quay.
Numbers are limited—to register, email deborah.levy@vuw.ac.nz by the morning of each event to reserve a seat.
The title of the series comes from Jean Devanny’s 1926 novel of the same name, which was reviled and banned on publication for its controversially raw depiction of New Zealand farm life.
The series is being recorded by RNZ National to be broadcast later and will also be available at www.rnz.co.nz.
Visit www.victoria.ac.nz/butcher-shop-series for more details.