Guest Speaker: Elaine Webster

By Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature | Posted:

Creative Cities Southern Hui warmly welcomes ELAINE WEBSTER as guest speaker. Elaine will be speaking at Centre for the Book: Books and Users on Wednesday 29th November.

‘I am really looking forward to the Creative Cities Southern Hui, and welcome the chance to engage with creative people making a difference in the world.’

Elaine is a reader, writer, novice collector and the Director of Summer School & Continuing Education at the University of Otago.

She is responsible for the planning, development and operation of both the annual Summer School and Continuing Education short courses. Her focus is to maintain a robust and viable programme for students and the wider community. This includes short courses in creative writing, letterpress printing, and poetry events.

In 2016 Elaine co-curated an exhibition of fashion books in the University of Otago Library’s Special Collections, and regularly participates in the Centre for the Book symposia and related events.

Elaine came to university study as a mature student, with a background in the creative and community sectors. She appreciates the value of tertiary education and is passionate about lifelong learning.

In 2006 she completed her PhD in Clothing & Textile Sciences and Anthropology at the University of Otago. Her research focuses on the role of dress and appearances in identity processes, symbolic meanings in the material world, and fashion as a social phenomenon. She has successfully exhibited textile art and has won several awards in wearable art.

Elaine has previously worked at the University of Otago as an academic and in research management, while maintaining her own research and involvement in the fashion and textile art communities.

Elaine reads every day. She is a member of a long-time book club, and takes every possible opportunity to engage with and support the Arts in the University and across the city. Elaine also acts as a Lilliput Library artist, guardian, and supporter.

‘My talk for the symposium is titled “Book friendships” which turns out to be a wonderful and curiously dynamic thing to think about.’

The University of Otago’s Centre for the Book: Books and Users symposium, on Wednesday 29th November, explores the many ways we interact with the ubiquitous object we call the book, and probes the meaning of ‘user’.