Kiwi coming home for Hundertwasser

The iconic nature of what will soon be New Zealand’s newest art gallery has
lured home a globally influential arts executive, after ten years abroad.

Kathleen Drumm is leaving her role as Industry Director for the Toronto
International Film Festival (TIFF), to lead Whangarei’s HUNDERTWASSER ART
CENTRE with Wairau Māori Art Gallery. She will take up the role of chief
executive in early June.

Kathleen has spent most of her working life in the film industry – in New
Zealand, Australia and Canada. In her current role she oversees TIFF’s
annual marketplace, which attracts thousands of executives, media and
filmmakers from the global film industry. As a programmer, she leads TIFF’s
professional, project and artistic development for screen creators,
year-round.

“I am excited to return to New Zealand to join this ambitious project, which
offers Whangarei the opportunity to become recognized both as a major
regional arts centre, and as an essential part of the growing arts tourism
circuit”, Kathleen said.

“The building and its surroundings will be unique, as a living expression of
Hundertwasser’s idiosyncratic vision – combining art and architecture with
his passion for ecological sustainability. Exhibitions from renowned,
contemporary Māori artists at the Wairau Māori Art Gallery, will make the
visitor experience all the more distinctive and memorable.

“It will be an iconic landmark on a grand scale unlike anything ever seen
before in New Zealand. I am confident it will become both a taonga for the
region of Northland, and a significant destination for international
visitors,” Kathleen said.

The HUNDERTWASSER ART CENTRE with Wairau Māori Art Gallery is due to open in
late 2020.

TIFF is considered one of the world’s most influential film festivals – and
is the biggest such public event, attracting over 650,000 people annually.

Prior to her role at TIFF, Kathleen was Head of Marketing at Screen
Australia in Sydney and before that led international sales and marketing
for the NZ Film Commission in Wellington.

Kathleen has worked with award-winning filmmakers such as Niki Caro, Taika
Waititi, and Academy Award winner Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech; Lion).