Douglas Lloyd Jenkins (b.1963) is a curator, writer, lecturer, commentator and the current director of the Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery. He was once described by Wallpaper magazine as “one of the most influential design writers in the Southern Hemisphere”.
In 2005, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins was awarded the Montana Medal for Non Fiction for his book At Home: A Century of New Zealand Design. He is also the author of a number of design and architecture books including New Dreamland: Writing New Zealand Architecture and 40 Legends of New Zealand Design.
Contributions
Douglas Lloyd Jenkins is most widely known to New Zealanders through his design and architecture contributions to magazines like NZ Home and the New Zealand Listener. He was the brains behind, and the face in front of, TVNZ’s Big Art Trip (2003 and 2004), which has become New Zealand television’s most popular, and most repeated, arts programme. Another closely followed documentary series, New Zealand At Home, was written and presented by Douglas based on his award-winning book.
Douglas Lloyd Jenkins has an expansive and impressive resume as a curator with a talent for reintroducing the public to pioneers of New Zealand design. Such shows include The 1950s Show, The Textiles of Ilse von Randow, Mason Handprints, Avis Higgs: Joie de Vivre and Frank Carpay: Crown Lynn and Beyond. His debut project when arriving at the Hawke’s Bay Museum and Art Gallery as Director was the spectacular Black Dress White Vase.
Background
Douglas trained in art history and design, and joined the staff of UNITEC, Institute of Technology Auckland in 1992. There, Douglas pioneered the distinctive discipline of Design History, establishing himself as the country’s leading scholar in the field.
In 2006, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins left teaching to take up an appointment as Director of the Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery. Since then he has transformed a small regional gallery into an innovative centre of excellence, leading a team that has established HBMAG as one of the best and most closely watched museums in the country.
Honours
In 2008, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins was awarded the Member of New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition for his Contribution to Design. In 2009, he was awarded the New Zealand Institute of Architects President's Award for his contribution to architecture. Douglas has a strong international profile as a writer and continues to contribute to design and architecture publications, both here and overseas.