Medici lectures

Our town, our people, their stories celebrated in 2019 Medici Lecture Series

Sophie Hensley kicks off the series on June 5 with a lecture on a “A dog’s role in international Disaster Rescue Work.” She tells how rescue teams use dogs to help find people who have been trapped after a disaster. Her lecture is based on her experiences as a dog handler with the International Disaster Response Team, Rapid UK. She has trained with dog teams in the USA, Oman, Finland and Peru as well as responding to earthquakes in Haiti, Pakistan and Iran.

One June 12 Michael Arapoff tells the personal story of his father’s survival in the turbulent times between the Wars. Johann fled St. Petersburg in 1917 to escape the Bolshevik uprising. He travelled to Vladivostock and then into the Far East before boarding a ship to France and finally arriving in Berlin in 1919. He lived as a Russian Exile until 1943.

Clive Paton has called his lecture “Tonganui-Big South” which is a visionary concept of a major conservation project to bring birdsong back to the South Wairarapa. It involves the local community and committed landowners from Pukaha to Palliser and from Aorangi to Zelandia. With the survival of our native species under threat and increasing numbers of pests and predators the project is a beacon for hope. This lecture is on Wednesday 19 June.

The final lecture on 26^th June will be given by Jim Dennison and Leanne Williams from the “Crystal Chain Gang” who are glass casters and is entitled “Light as a feather”. Operating from local premises they have established a critically  acclaimed practice that is supported by art galleries and private collectors throughout New Zealand and overseas. Working with glass the aspect of light has always been paramount and this practice has evolved to capture it in their bespoke chandeliers one of which is being designed for the Waihanga Centre.

The Café opens at 6 p.m. and the lectures are due to start at 6.30. A complementary glass of wine and nibbles will be served. The charge is $20 a head.