Developing a Decolonised Performance Practice Research Degree for Aotearoa

Nicole Gaston

Abstract: The development of a new postgraduate qualification at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is used to illustrate challenges and opportunities for a decolonised, practice-based performing arts context. Theories of the decolonisation of knowledge and embodied research are explored to support the finding that the library and librarian play pivotal roles in supporting faculty & students to create innovative, authentic, impactful work.

About: Originally from Chicago, USA, Nicole has lived and worked in libraries around the world including France, Laos, Benin (West Africa), Canada, St. Lucia (Eastern Caribbean) and Aotearoa since 2010 when she was awarded a PhD scholarship to study at Victoria University of Wellington.

She holds a BA in French Language & Literature (University of Illinois at Chicago), and a Master of Library and Information Science (McGill University, Montreal). Her PhD explored how people from non-Western cultures engage with information.  

Since completing her PhD in 2013 she has worked as a lecturer in Library & Information Studies at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa | The National Library of New Zealand.

Nicole is also a practising visual artist in ceramics and the intersection of culture, information, and equity continues to be of interest throughout her art practice and professional work.