Dr Rebecca Rice

Rebecca worked as a physiotherapist before a passion for art led her back to university.

Dr Rebecca Rice gained her PhD in Art History from Victoria University of Wellington in 2010. Supervised by Roger Blackley, her research investigated the evolution of the state collections of colonial New Zealand art, as well as how they have been used in exhibition and discourse to contribute to the formation and critical fate of a “canon”. This followed from her MA research on New Zealand's representation on the world stage at 19th century international exhibitions. While her research interests lie in the area of colonial New Zealand art, Rebecca maintains an active writing profile in the field of contemporary art and is particularly interested in locating moments of intersection between past and present practice. Rebecca has been a regular reviewer for Art New Zealand since 2004, she has published a number of journal articles, contributed to catalogues and has presented her research at local and international conferences. Rebecca was awarded the Victoria University of Wellington Medal for Academic Excellence (2002), received both a Victoria University of Wellington Postgraduate and William Georgetti Scholarship for her Master’s and a Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Research Scholarship for her PhD study. In 2013 Rebecca Rice was appointed Curator Historical New Zealand Art at Te Papa Tongarewa. Before this appointment she worked as a part-time lecturer in Art History at Victoria University of Wellington and Collection Officer for the Adam Art Gallery. Her current situation seemed highly unlikely more than 10 years ago when she returned to study after working as a physiotherapist for several years. A love for the arts and music led her back to university and art history soon became, and continues to be, her primary passion.