Kenneth Coulton Gorbey CNZM (born 1942) is a New Zealand museum director and consultant. He has designed and created exhibitions at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the Jewish Museum Berlin.
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Early life edit
Gorbey was born in 1942 and grew up in Maungatautari.[1][2] He studied at the University of Auckland where he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in archaeology.[2]
Career edit
Gorbey commenced his career with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust in 1968 by conducting an archaeological survey of the Kapuni natural gas pipeline route.[2][3]
From 1971 to 1983, he was director of the Waikato Museum in Hamilton.[2] From there he became Director of the Museum Project and head of exhibition planning for the new Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) where he worked with Cliff Whiting, Jock Phillips, Cheryl Sotheran and Nigel Cox.[2][4] He held that position for 15 years.[2]
In 1999, he was engaged by Mike Blumenthal to design the exhibitions for the Jewish Museum Berlin, where he became project director and deputy president.[5] His vision was to create a museum that did not concentrate solely on the Holocaust, but told Jewish history using storytelling and as "magical theatre".[2][6] To this end he hired his colleague from Te Papa, writer Nigel Cox, to work with him.[2]
Since 1984, Gorbey has continued to work as a consultant on museum projects.[2][7][8]
Honours and awards edit
In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours, Gorbey was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to museums.[9]
Selected works edit
- Gorbey, Ken (February 1998). "Design definitions". Architecture New Zealand. Special issue: 20–21.
References edit
- ^ "Gorbey, Ken, 1942–". tiaki.natlib.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gorbey, Ken (2020). Te Papa to Berlin: the making of two museums. Dunedin. ISBN 978-1-988592-37-4. OCLC 1139651808.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Lawrence, Joan; Prickett, Nigel (1984). "Excavations at Pukearuhe (N99/49), North Taranaki, 1968". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 21: 1–32. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42906335. Wikidata Q58677203.
- ^ Parkinson, Robin (February 1998). "Design in exhibits". Architecture New Zealand. Special issue: 62.
- ^ Filler, Martin (1 October 2001). "Into the Void". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Anti-Semitism Debate Reaches the Art World". Deutsche Welle DW.COM. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "'Think beyond a museum as a building,' says expert visiting Tauranga". NZ Herald. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ Gorbey, Ken (2009). "Te Ahu Concept Design Review Report 2009" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2007". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 4 June 2007. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
External links edit
- Ken Gorbey: from Te Papa to Berlin, a lifetime of museums. Interview on RNZ, 25 August 2020
- Our Museum's History, Part Three: political decisions in 2001. Jewish Museum Berlin. Accessed 13 November 2020