Deidre Sharon Brown of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu is a New Zealand art historian and architectural lecturer. Brown grew up in New Lynn, New Zealand and is of Māori, Pākehā and English descent. She attended the University of Auckland for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. In 1997, she completed her PhD at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Her thesis was titled Mōrehu Architecture which focused on Māori architecture between the years 1850 and 1950. After completing her education, Brown began to focus on teaching her specialty of Māori art history and architecture at universities. Deidre Brown is currently teaching at the University of Auckland and is also the head of the School of Architecture and Planning. Additionally, she is a governor of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, a member of the Māori Trademarks Advisory Committee of the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, and a member of the Humanities Panel of the Marsden Fund.
Career
Following her PhD in 1998, Brown began her academic career at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, where she was a lecturer in the Art History department teaching Māori Art History. In 2003, Brown returned to the University of Auckland where she taught design and history in the School of Architecture and Planning. She is now a professor at the School of Architecture and Planning, with research interests in Māori architecture and art, the relationship of art and curatorship to architecture, and intersections between culture and technology. She has published a number of books about art and architecture that focuses on her interests, specifically Māori art. Brown has also curated a number of exhibitions in galleries throughout New Zealand. Over the years, Brown has received a number of awards for her impactful work. Deidre has worked at the University of Auckland for over a decade and was recently named as the next head of the School of Architecture and Planning beginning in January 2019. She is the first indigenous female to head an architecture school.
Māori: Academic Focus
Deidre Brown's main academic focus is the history of Māori art and architecture. Her focus on this culture within her studies began because of her personal connection as a descendant of the Māori people. Many of Brown's work discuss the culture of the Māori tribes, honing in on the art and architecture. The Māori are indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. They arrived in New Zealand between 1250 and 1300. The culture developed uniquely because of the people's isolation. They even developed their own language. Brown's work about Māori art and architecture reveals historical information about the distinct culture. Through much of her research new findings have developed about the isolated, indigenous culture.
Books
Brown has contributed and edited a variety of books connected to her interests of study. She is the co-author of A New Zealand Book of Beasts: Animals in our History, Culture and Everyday Life with Annie Potts and Philip Armstrong in which her chapters examine the significance of animals in Māori and Pākehā art. Brown also wrote a book titled Māori Architecture that explores the different Māori-designed structures and space and their evolution over time. Deidre Brown continues to share her studies and interests of art and architecture with the world through research and literature. Books Deidre Brown wrote or edited:
Brown, D. S., A. Potts and P. Armstrong, A New Zealand Book of Beasts: Animals in Our Culture, History and Everyday Life, Auckland University Press, Auckland.
2012 Brunt, P, S. Mallon, N. Thomas, D. S. Brown, S. Kuechler, L. Bolton and D. Skinner, Art in Oceania: A new history, Thames and Hudson & Yale University Press, London & New Haven.
2012 Brown, D. S. editor, Indigenising Knowledges for Current and Future Generations, Nga Pae o te Maramatanga and Te Whare Kura, Auckland.
Brown has been widely recognized for her impactful and significant contributions to the art history world. In 2004 Brown's book Tai Tokerau Whakairo Rākau: Northland Māori Wood Carving won the NZSA E.H. McCormick Best First Book Award for Non-Fiction at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Art in Oceania: A new history received the 2013 Art Book Prize from the Authors’ Club. Māori architecture: from fale to wharenui and beyond won the Art, Architecture and Design category in the 2009 Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards and was a finalist in the Illustrated Non-Fiction Category at the 2010 New Zealand Post Book Awards. Brown's dedication and passion for her studies has been acknowledged by numerous awards. Awards Deidre Brown received:
Art Book Prize for Art in Oceania: A new history for the best art or architecture book published in English anywhere in the world in 2013
Finalist, New Zealand Post Book Awards for Māori Architecture, 2010
New Zealand Institute of Architects National Awards President's Award for contribution to the institute and the profession of architecture, 2010
Excellence in Equal Opportunity Award, University of Auckland, for Success for All: Improving Maori and Pasifika Success in Degree Level Studies project, 2010
Nga Kupu Ora Māori Book Award for Māori Architecture; finalist in Nga Kupu Ora Māori Book Award for Tai Tokerau Whakairo Rakau: Northland Maori Wood Carving, 2009
Excellence in Equal Opportunity Award, University of Auckland, for NICAI Tuākana Research Assistants Workshop, 2008
Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award, University of Auckland, for Collaboration in Teaching, 2007.
Innovation Award for the curation of LightSCAPE and Whare, Art and Industry Trust, 2004
Montana New Zealand National Book Award for Tai Tokerau Whakairo Rakau: Northland Māori Wood Carving, 2004
