HANDSHAKE

Aotearoa Exchange group performed a unique presentation that opened SCHMUCKmuenchen 2026 at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, on Friday, 6 March. The project brought together more than forty wearable works by twenty Handshake Project alumni artists. Six performers...

Aotearoa Exchange

by admin | January 15, 2026 | Collaboration, Curation, HS alumnus, News | 0 Comments

Aotearoa Exchange is presented and performed by Mia Straka, Jessica Winchcombe, Grace Yu Piper, Hilda Gascard, Lisa van Hulst, and Peter Deckers on Fr 06 March 2026, at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich. The project brings more than forty wearable works by HANDSHAKE...

Reflections on the Handshake Project:

by admin | November 28, 2025 | News | 0 Comments

A Journey of Innovation and Community (2011–April 2025) - By Peter Deckers Looking back on my time leading the Handshake Project (HS)—from its modest beginnings in 2010 to its conclusion in April 2025—I see a journey defined by transformation. What started as a...

Reflecting on 2 years of Handshake 8

by Rachael Chapman | March 23, 2025 | Handshake8, Rachel Chapman, Sample | 0 Comments

It’s so nice to have this blog space to expand on the creative thoughts around this project. So often we are limited to a certain word-count for artist statements. For the record, that’s not a complaint - concise statements have their place, but I think 2 years of...

MINUMENTAL

by admin | November 25, 2024 | Collaboration, Exhibition, Handshake6, News | 0 Comments

ex HS6 artists presented their group exhibition MINUMENTAL at Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne as part of the Radiant Pavilion Contemporary Jewellery and Object Biennale 2024. Following its debut at Nelson Jewellery Week (Aotearoa) in 2023, this second iteration...

Stitches and Stones

by Grace Yu Piper | November 13, 2024 | Grace Yu Piper, Handshake8 | 0 Comments

When I began my handshake journey I was a stone carver. I love the materiality of stone and its connection to the natural world. I gravitate towards reductive ways of working and enjoy the meditative process of carving. I’ve always been a forager and I love rock...

SINCERELY YOURS

by Denise Callan | November 7, 2024 | Denise Callan, Handshake8 | 0 Comments

Sincerely Yours is the last in a what has become a three part series. It began with an exploration of identity and our human need for belonging, through my initial work titled Dear Public. Last year, as my work developed for our first handshake show, I realised what I...

Bodies of Water

by Tui Diprose | November 7, 2024 | Handshake8, Tūī Diprose | 0 Comments

To heal; heal the waters. My work through HANDSHAKE8 explores themes of talisman, place, land, healing of matrilineal lines by...

BEAUTIFUL BUT INSUFFICIENT

by Denise Callan | November 7, 2024 | Denise Callan, Handshake8 | 0 Comments

Last year, Dear Maker contained a sealed confessional box called “Communion”. This piece facilitated a way for the audience to exercise the acknowledgement, expression and release of shame though written confessions. This year began with the burning of this...

Tell me more about ‘Desire Lines’

by Nellie Peoples | November 6, 2024 | Handshake8, Nellie Peoples | 0 Comments

This my artwork created for the final Handshake 8 exhibition 'Materlise', present by the Handshake Project at the Artshouse Trust, Pah Homestead, Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau. The exhibition runs from 8 November 2024 - 16 February 2025. The piece is called 'Desire Lines',...

LATEST HS PROJECT

Aotearoa Exchange, Munich 2026

– Vanessa Arthur
– Becky Bliss
– Nadene Carr
– Denise Callan
– Aphra Cheesman
– Grace Yu Piper
– Jess Winchcombe
– Keri-Mei Zagrobelna
– Lisa van Hulst
– Mia Straka
– Neke Moa
– Nellie Peoples
– Nina van Duijnhoven
– Raewyn Walsh
– Sam Kelly
– Sarah Walker Holt
– Amelia Rothwell
– Brendon Monson
– Caroline Thomas

Latest blog posts:

Aotearoa Exchange

by admin | February 6, 2026 | Curation, HS alumnus, News | 0 Comments

Aotearoa Exchange

by admin | January 15, 2026 | Collaboration, Curation, HS alumnus, News | 0 Comments

Reflections on the Handshake Project:

by admin | November 28, 2025 | News | 0 Comments

Reflecting on 2 years of Handshake 8

by Rachael Chapman | March 23, 2025 | Handshake8, Rachel Chapman, Sample | 0 Comments

MINUMENTAL

by admin | November 25, 2024 | Collaboration, Exhibition, Handshake6, News | 0 Comments

Stitches and Stones

by Grace Yu Piper | November 13, 2024 | Grace Yu Piper, Handshake8 | 0 Comments

SINCERELY YOURS

by Denise Callan | November 7, 2024 | Denise Callan, Handshake8 | 0 Comments

Bodies of Water

by Tui Diprose | November 7, 2024 | Handshake8, Tūī Diprose | 0 Comments

To heal; heal the waters. My work through HANDSHAKE8 explores themes of talisman, place, land, healing of matrilineal lines by...

BEAUTIFUL BUT INSUFFICIENT

by Denise Callan | November 7, 2024 | Denise Callan, Handshake8 | 0 Comments

Tell me more about ‘Desire Lines’

by Nellie Peoples | November 6, 2024 | Handshake8, Nellie Peoples | 0 Comments

Selected HS News

CURATED HANDSHAKE exhibitions (HS ALUMNI)

HS CURATION

HS Collaborations

Exhibition ONLINE

ALL HANDSHAKE exhibitions

COLLABORATIONS

EXHIBITION online

ALL HANDSHAKE EXHIBITIONS

ABOUT US

HANDSHAKE is a mentoring program in which established artists spread their knowledge to less experienced artists. The “knowledge” accumulated in exchange of the relationship based on feedback is implemented in exhibitions and joint projects.