Gill Gatfield (born 1963) is a New Zealand sculptor; she was formerly a lawyer specialising in equality and diversity.

Biography

Gatfield grew up in

Kawerau Kawerau is a town in the Bay of Plenty Region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 100 km south-east of Tauranga and 58 km east of Rotorua. It is the seat of the Kawerau District Council, and the only town in Kawerau Distr ...

, one of five daughters. Her mother was a maths teacher and her father taught science.

Law

Gatfield completed a law degree at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. She initially worked in legal practice, then in

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s and the Ministry of Women's Affairs. At the Ministry she worked on policy development including pornography law reform, child support tax, employment discrimination, and women in combat. In 1993, she founded Equity Works Ltd, investigating complaints of harassment and discrimination, and advised government and private sector organisations on equality and diversity strategies. Gatfield also received a research scholarship from the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society () is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, although any person wishing ...

to study issues related to women in law and in 1996 published ''Without prejudice: women in the law'', which was re-published in 2011 as a Heritage Collection Title.

Art

In 2002, Gatfield returned to the University of Auckland and completed a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree in 2004. In 2011, her work ''Silhouette'', a stone sculpture at Smales Farm busway station in Auckland, was a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards. In 2015, Gatfield was the sole juror of the 18th International Open 2015 Chicago, an open competition for women artists worldwide. The same year, she was artist in residence at the

Women's Museum, Aarhus KØN - Gender Museum Denmark, formerly Kvindemuseet (Women's Museum), is a history museum in Aarhus, Denmark focused on the cultural history of gender and sexuality in Denmark. KØN was originally founded in 1982 as a women's history museum, and ...

, in Denmark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatfield, Gill 1963 births Living people New Zealand sculptors University of Auckland alumni People from Kawerau 20th-century New Zealand lawyers 20th-century New Zealand women lawyers