Agm chair's report 2020

NATIONAL DANCE ARCHIVE OF NEW ZEALAND
NGA KAITIAKI TAONGA KANIKANI O AOTEAROA
 
Report from the Chair
18 June 2020
 
Not wanting to do disservice to Charles Dickens but the past twelve months has been the best and worst of times. The good times have involved new committee members joining and received funding for an oral history project. The worst has been for the whole of New Zealand in Lockdown as the World faces a pandemic. ‘The worst’ has meant working in different ways, leading us to all attend our April meeting via Zoom.
 
Trustees
At this AGM we formally welcome two new trustees – Brigitte Knight and Geordan Wilcox – who both expressed interest in joining the committee earlier this year. Geordan is based in Auckland and it is good to have a representative of the NDA there. Brigitte long-term is also based in Auckland but currently working in Wellington. With Philippa Pidgeon in Christchurch we now have two, potentially three members outside of Wellington and we hope this is a step towards a more national representation of the National Dance Archive. 
 
Archiving Resources Subcommittee
The Archiving Resources Subcommittee continues its work on the wording for the information sheet for the NDA. With this document forming the basis for several channels that people will first hear about NDA it is important to get the tone and content right before we use it for publicity and promotion.
 
Oral Histories Subcommittee
It was with great excitement that in November we received a grant for an oral history project from the NZ Lottery Grants Board from their Lottery Environment and Heritage Committee. This project will interview Jamie Bull, Shona McCullagh, Jenny Stevenson, and Carla van Zon. 
 
Thank you to Lyne Pringle for her assistance providing budgets for the application and her knowledge of past NDA oral history projects from her time as a trustee. We are also thankful for her general enthusiasm and encouragement for the oral history project and for being willing to be our interviewer for this project. 
 
Although the project start date has been held up by the national response to COVID-19 it is otherwise ready to go and Lyne still intends to have the project completed within the twelve-month timeframe.
 
Jennifer Shennan’s oral history conducted in part in February 2019, interviewed by Michelle Potter, is still to be completed. This has not been forgotten, however, and all parties remain willing in principle to complete the project.
 
Sponsorship and Funding Subcommittee
The sale of NDA cards in the National Library Shop continues to provide a small but steady revenue stream. Other avenues of fundraising have been investigated and will be followed up. Extra funding is needed to supplement the grant from the NZ Lottery Grants Board to complete the oral history project.
 
Technology Subcommittee 
The focus of the Technology Subcommittee this year has been video conferencing for meetings, for Philippa to join us remotely from Christchurch. Further to this, the April meeting was held via Zoom, with meeting in person not possible due to COVID-19 restrictions.
 
It is still the intention to have a webpage linked to the DANZ website and that is likely to be acted upon in the coming year. The working paper of the Archiving Resources Subcommittee is progressing towards being ready for publishing and the webpage will be the first place it is used. 
 
The Year Ahead
I look forward to the current oral history project taking place. All four interviewees have had very dedicated careers in dance by various means, and hearing what they have to say of their experiences will prove very interesting listening. Having our own web presence will also be something to anticipate.
 
Conclusion
I offer my sincere thanks to all the Trustees and the time you have volunteered to serving on the NDA. Volunteering your time and fitting in the work of the NDA around very busy schedules is inspiring. I hope that seeing the progress made by the Trust the last few years, as outlined in the working documents, has brought some satisfaction for being a Trustee.
 
Thank you particularly to Kim in her role as secretary and completing the important but often overlooked role of taking minutes. Thank you also to Sue, who with Peter stepped up to complete the NZ Lottery Grants application while I headed out of the country for seven weeks. 
 
Thank you as well to our Treasurer, Carolyn McKeefry, for faithfully managing our accounts throughout the past twelve months. As well as reports for meetings this has also included supplying invoices to National Library for the card sales and several other accounting tasks. 
 
Finally, a big thank you to DANZ through offering the meeting room at Toi Poneke gratis. Our thanks also for their willingness to host our webpage as part of their website and the many other ways they support the NDA. With reports of their reduced funding this year, their continued support to the NDA is especially appreciated in these times.
 
 
Keith McEwing
Chairperson
16 June 2020