In Conversation: Christina Barton & Mickey Smith

Join writer, Christina Barton, and artist, Mickey Smith, for a discussion on knowledge, memory, archives and books.

This conversation is inspired by Smith’s exhibition, 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴, travelling from the US which explores the evolving life cycles of books and libraries, from medieval chained collections to the digital age, and what these transformations reveal about memory, culture, and our shared relationship with knowledge.

𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻
Christina Barton is a respected curator, writer, editor and educator based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. In 2021 she was awarded an MNZM for her services to art history and curating, and in 2025, Out of the Blue, a collection of her essays on Aotearoa New Zealand artists was published by Te Herenga Waka University Press and Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery.

𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵
Mickey Smith (US/NZ) is an award winning conceptual artist and photographer. For over two decades, her practice has been engaged with a longstanding inquiry into libraries, books and archives — in particular the social significance of their physical existence or disappearance.

𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵: 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀
5 March - 24 May 2026 at The Arts House Trust. Presented proudly in association with Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival.