Hon Christopher Finlayson
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

20 November 2009
Media Statement

Minister welcomes new Weta Workshop exhibition

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Christopher Finlayson spoke today at the announcement of a major original exhibition by Weta Workshop which will tour China later this year.

“As Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, I want to congratulate Weta for another great coup – taking this exhibition to China, one of our most significant trading partners and, we hope, a partner in an increasing number of audio-visual production projects,” Mr Finlayson said.

The exhibition will feature the work of New Zealand artist Greg Broadmore, who worked on District 9, King Kong, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is based on his ‘fictional universe’ of Dr Grordbort’s and Dr Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators – described as “antique styled sci-fi hand weapon props, evoking the nostalgia of a lost age of exploration and discovery”. Weta Workshop has developed the ray-guns as a line of art collectibles. The remainder of the exhibition will be made up of other props from Weta Workshop’s collection.

The exhibition grew out of discussions between head of Weta Workshop Richard Taylor, and Gavin Crombie – founder and Chief Executive of IDF Global and Green Leaf Film Studios in Chengdu. Richard Taylor was among the New Zealand business leaders that attended the signing of the China/New Zealand Free Trade Agreement last year.

All ticket profits from the exhibition will be donated to the Sichuan Quake Relief Organisation for victims of the earthquake in Chengdu on 12 May, 2008.

It will run from 5 December 2009 to 14 January 2010 at the Sichuan Provincial Museum in Chengdu.

ENDS

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