Groundbreakers considers the early careers of two of Ōtepoti Dunedin’s most significant artists, Grace Joel and Frances Hodgkins, and explores their work in the context of Ōtepoti in the late 19th century. Drawing together works from the collection of Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Hocken Collections and beyond, the exhibition follows the journey of Joel and Hodgkins as they broke through boundaries and expectations to forge international careers.  Placing their parallel practices alongside their peers and contemporaries in Ōtepoti, Groundbreakers expands the established view of the creative vanguard that cemented the city as a progressive centre for art in the 1880s and 1890s. 

Featuring works by Grace Joel, Frances Hodgkins, Jenny Wimperis, William Mathew Hodgkins, Isabel Field, Alfred O’Keeffe, Katherine Holmes, Annie White, David Con Hutton, Nellie Hutton, Robert Hawcridge, & Girolamo Nerli.