Born in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton, in 1985, van der Drift studied at the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in 2022. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at Pah Homestead called Listening to a Wet Land (2023) comprising video work and a series of river exposures and Waning Gibbous to Waxing Gibbous (2023) at Jhana Millers Gallery in Wellington. Kate won the highly commended prize in the 2024 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award, she won the Uxbridge Malcolm Smith Gallery Art and Ecology Award in 2020 and the Stoneleigh New Zealand Artist Grant to make new work for the Melbourne Art Fair in 2018. In 2022 Kate worked with a small group of artists to self-publish a collaborative book of art essays called From Things Flow following a group exhibition at RM Gallery in 2021. Kate is represented by Sanderson Contemporary and lives between Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland and Whāingaroa/Raglan.
Essays and Reviews
Clark, Andrew Listening to a wet land - review Photoforum, 2022
Wood, Matthew To Locate Exhibition text, 2022
Huddleston, Charlotte 🜃🜁🜂🜄 From Things Flow, 2022
Dyer, Nina Unstable Witnesses: Kate van der Drift’s cameraless photographs, The Art Paper, 2022
McAvoy, Emil As Above So Below Recent Photographs by Anne Noble and Kate van der Drift,
Art New Zealand, 2020
Walls, Maria Drains, Canals, Pump-Houses and Stop Banks, 2018
Seja, Nina Kate van der Drift reviewed - July 2018, PhotoForum, 2018
Walls, Maria Kate van der Drift 20 Artists and 20 Writers, 2017
Jansen, Charlotte More Real Than The Real Thing Elephant Magazine Fall Issue, 2016
Vegas, Mareea A Place in Time D-Photo Magazine September Spring Issue, 2016
M Eventual Efflorescence - Kate van der Drift Raven About Art, June 2016
Hanton, Jamie Kate van der Drift 20/20, 20 Artists and 20 Writers, 2016
Aoake, Hana van der Drift Photos EyeContact 25th of June, 2015
Centre of Contemporary Art. Kate van der Drift COCA newsletter and website, www.coca.org.nz/exhibitions/209/ April,
Qualifications
2022 Master of Fine Arts (First Class Honours). Elam School of Fine Art, Auckland
2015 Postgraduate Diploma of Fine Arts (with Distinction). Elam School of Fine Art
2010 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Electronic Art) Otago Polytechnic School of Art
Solo and Group Exhibitions
2024 Conscious and Confusion, A Study of Experimental Photography, Rueff Galleries, Indiana USA (group)
2024 Water Marks, 23 Public billboards in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch
2023 Waning Gibbous to Waxing Gibbous, Jhana Millers Gallery, Wellington (solo)
2023 Water Slows As It Rounds The Bend, Auckland Festival of Photography, Auckland
2023 Susurrations, Women in Photography NZ & AU, Twenty-Six Constable Street, Wellington (group)
2023 Soundings, Sanderson, Auckland (solo)
2022 Listening to a Wet Land, Pah Homestead, Auckland (solo)
2022 Listening to a Wet Land, Elam Project Space, Auckland (solo)
2021 From Things Flow, RM Project Space, Auckland (group)
2021 Sweet and Sour, Sanderson, Auckland (solo)
2020 Estuary Art and Ecology Exhibition Malcolm Smith Gallery, Uxbridge Arts, Auckland (group)
2020 Wallace Art Awards finalist in a touring show, Auckland, Porirua and Morrinsville (group)
2019 Directional Listening: Fluvial Field Notes Sanderson Contemporary (solo)
2019 Water Surrounds Us Auckland Art Fair, (group)
2019 Everywhere We Look PhotoForum, Online exhibition (group)
2018 Presentation for the Melbourne Art Fair as the 2018 Stoneleigh New Zealand Artist Grant recipient (solo)
2018 Water Slows As It Rounds The Bend Auckland Festival of Photography, Sanderson Contemporary (solo)
2017 Wallace Awards Finalist in a touring exhibition, Pah Homestead Auckland, Morrinsville and NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington (group)
2017 Sea of Echoes Sanderson Contemporary Art (solo)
2016 Eventual Efflorescence Auckland Festival of Photography, Sanderson Contemporary Art (solo)
2016 And (&) per se and, 5 Wairiki Rd, Mount Eden, Auckland (group)
2015 The Oasis and The Mirage Graduate Exhibition. Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland (group)
2015 Changing Shores of Shadow Auckland Festival of Photography, Sanderson Contemporary Art (solo)
2015 By Then, George Fraser Gallery, Auckland (group)
2015 A Place Between Casbah Gallery (Artist-run space), Hamilton (group)
2014 One Thing For Certain Railway Street Studio, Auckland (group)
2013 From Now On (No Garden of Eden) Collaborative exhibition. Wallace Gallery Morrinsville (group)
2013 Push To Talk (We Are Optimistic) Performed at Pearce Gallery as part of the One Day Wonder Series, Auckland
2012 They Could Have Stayed Forever Mint Gallery, Dunedin (solo)
2011 Push To Talk (We Are Optimistic) Performed at Qubit - A Weekend of Performance Art. Anteroom (Artist-run space), Port Chalmers
2010 Planning Agency for the Patriarchy Free Zone (We Are Optimistic) Dunedin (group)
2010 Domestic Terror Video Installation, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch (solo)
Awards
2024 Highly commended award. Molly Morpeth Canaday Awards.
2020 Winner of the Uxbridge Malcolm Smith Gallery Art and Ecology Award.
2020 Wallace Award and Wallace Travelling Show finalist
2019 University of Auckland Research Masters Scholarship
2018 Stoneleigh New Zealand Artist Grant to make new work for the 2018 Melbourne Art Fair
2017 Wallace Award and Wallace Travelling Show finalist
2010 OUSA Best Installation prize for the OUSA Art Week
2009 Otago Polytechnic Prize for Project Drawing
Talks and Interviews
2024 Interview with Frances from Various Artists. 95bFM
https://95bfm.com/bcast/water-marks-w-kate-van-der-drift-january-19-2024
2023 Panelist in the Peter Turner Photography Symposium. The discussion titled Photography, Whenua and Coloniality with Natalie Robertson, Conor Clark and facilitated by Caroline McQuarrie. Te Marae, Te Papa.
2023 Gallery talk. Susurrations, Women in Photography NZ & AU, Twenty-Six Constable Street, Wellington
2021 Online Interview with My Art https://myart.co.nz/story/artist-kate-van-der-drift/
2021 Online Interview and Instagram Takeover with Women in Photography NZ & AU March 16th 2021 - March 19th. Conversation with Virginia Woods-Jack https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMjMUkwjq0n/
2020 Artist Talk, Ten x Ten Wallace Art Awards Artist Talks
2018 Artist Talk, Melbourne Art Fair as the Stoneleigh New Zealand Artist Grant recipient