Opening night: Friday 23 October 6pm. On Show 23 October - 8 November 2026.
Sammy Milne
Samantha has worked across both the arts and care sectors — first as a gallery manager, then facilitating the arts program at an organisation supporting adults with intellectual disabilities. It was there that she discovered embroidery, and where the idea for Held in Regard first took shape. She now works at a local primary school, looking after the children and supporting the staff who teach them.
Held in Regard brings together seven embroidered portraits of cultural figures she admires. For Samantha, the process is the point: each portrait takes shape stitch by stitch, a slow, deliberate act of attention that becomes its own form of regard for its subject.
“Two years with these faces now, one stitch at a time. That’s longer than I’ve ever really looked at anyone. Embroidery doesn’t let you rush. Every portrait here took hours of slow, close attention — closer than a camera, closer than most of us ever get looked at. That slowness is the whole point of this show, and it’s why I picked thread over paint: paint can move fast if you let it. Thread can’t. You sit with the same few inches of a face for so long that you start to notice things a quick glance would miss. The people behind these stitches — a chef, a statesman, a painter, and musicians — lived completely different lives, but none of them ever softened into someone easier. They stayed exactly themselves, even when it cost them. To regard someone is to look closely and to admire them. Two years of slow, close looking was my way of doing both — my way of saying thank you to people who never knew I existed.”
Raewyn Booth
“Brushes, paint and canvas, these are great for healing”
These words and tools for beginning my creative journey were a gift from my eldest son 23 yrs ago. I began, and loved it; I was creating and healing. I started with oils, watercolours next, then found my passion: acrylics and abstract.
A freedom of imagination and moments of colour that create beauty. This is me.
“New beginnings from love: A journey that started out as a distraction for me and ended up becoming a passion: Residing in Titirangi, where the sounds of the Kereru and the tui are a constant reminder of the beauty of this area, is a great place to create. Each of my paintings are a different “moment of time” I never think of something specific that I want to paint, I just start, and see what happens. I love colour, boldness, and layers. My mind is always busy and this is reflective in my works. Trying different styles is exciting and seeing the end result always gives me a smile,And if others get a smile out of my work, I am happy.”