Helen Klisser During
Member, Friends of AUT Inc.
Global Art Projects: Art Advisory & Photojournalism
Helen Klisser During is an art advisor, curator, and photojournalist who has championed global art projects for over 25 years. She creates, documents and fosters cultural exchange to promote understanding and address issues of social justice. An art world insider, Helen nurtures relationships among individuals and institutions to create significant cultural initiatives. She is recognized by KEA as a World Class New Zealander.
International consultancies have included Gibbs Farm (New Zealand), The Hall Art Foundation (Massachusetts, Vermont, and Germany), Art Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Art Toronto (Canada), and The Armory Show (New York). Helen serves as international ambassador at large for Auckland Art Gallery and Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand); and as the U.S. Development Manager for The Helen Clark Foundation.
She has curated hundreds of exhibitions which have been at the forefront of the contemporary art world, for example, exhibiting Christo’s ideas for The Gates project three years before it was realized in Central Park. She organized notable exhibitions and supplemental programs to promote social justice including “A Night of Nurturing Nature”, a discussion with Helen Clark and featured photographer Edward Burtynsky; “On the Wire Veiled Rebellion”, a conversation with Helen Clark about Lynsey Addarios photos depicting Afghan women’s lives; “Hope in Haiti", an exhibition of photographs taken by 50 children from the Carma Foundation Orphanage in Haiti; “Champions to End Malaria", an exhibition for which she was awarded curatorial role at the United Nations; and “Malawi with Love", a collaborative exhibition with Save the Children.
In efforts equally close to her heart (and closer to her home), Helen is the artistic director and co-founder with Mary Himes of #UNLOAD: Arts Trigger a Conversation, a statewide initiative in Connecticut to promote conversation through arts and education, around the divisive issue of gun violence in America. She is a gubernatorial-appointed member of The Connecticut Arts Council, chair of the art acquisitions committee for Connecticut, and artistic director emeritus of Westport Arts Center.
Helen is an award-winning photojournalist who has taken on assignments worldwide for The United Nations in Malawi and Rwanda; AmeriCares in El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua; and Carma Foundation in Haiti. She served as the still photographer for Gaylene Preston's 2016 film "My Year with Helen: The Helen Clark Documentary", and her photographs and photo essays have been published in a wide range of national and international publications.
Helen has contributed strongly to New Zealand athletics, as was noted by Terry McLean in his essay “They Do Come Back", which first appeared in The New Zealand Herald in 1979 and was reprinted in the 1984 book “The Best of McLean”. She was on the New Zealand ski team in 1976 representing NZ in the European Cup circuit, training with the NZ ski team in Switzerland when she broke her back during a downhill race at 80 miles per hour and spent 14 weeks in hospital. Four years later, supposedly "retired" from the NZ ski team, she surprised everyone by racing in the National Championships and becoming runner up. In 1980 Helen was awarded Auckland University’s Sportswoman of the Year.
Helen joined Friends of AUT Inc Board of Trustees in November 2018.
Helen Klisser During's website