PRIVATE ART ADVISORY
1991 - present
Helen Klisser During has shared her insider’s access to the art world with new and established private collectors and public/corporate institutions. She fosters relationships between clients, artists, galleries, museums, art fairs, and auction houses. Helen arranges site-specific commissions and customizes VIP art tours domestically and internationally.
She has curated hundreds of exhibitions with a vision to create a dialog within the art world, regardless of geographical position. Her exhibitions and projects aim to inspire, provoke thought, educate, and delight a range of audiences.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
1998 – present Photo Assignments
• Still photographer for Gaylene Preston's 2016 documentary "My Year With Helen"
• United Nations Development Program: Rwanda and Malawi – Documented Hon. Helen Clark, Director/Administrator UNDP, Oct 2012 trip
• AmeriCares - Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador (Overnight airlift 2011)
• Won awards for photojournalistic excellence in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Connecticut Chapter.
1998 - present Publications
• www.stuff.co.nz
National Portrait: Helen Clark, Gunning for Top UN Job, April 2016
Helen Clark Makes Pitch for Secretary General Job in Speech to United Nations, April 2016
• Richtopia.com
Powerful Women Secrets: Helen Clark (interview), May 2016
• The Art Market Report
• NYC & Co.
• Connecticut Cottages & Gardens
Cover photo, November 2014
Vantage Point, November 2014
Venice Bienniale, September 2013
Takin' It to the Streets, September 2013
Down at the Farm, September 2007
• Hamptons Cottages and Gardens
• Art New Zealand
Cover photo, Spring 1998
• WestportNOW.com
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / CURATOR / GALLERY DIRECTOR
2016 -present Artistic Director Emeritus Westport Arts Center, Westport, CT
2010 - 2015 Artistic Director, Westport Arts Center, Westport, CT
Notable Programs
• Founded ArtCafé – weekly gathering of artists, collectors and art lovers to review events in the art world
• Created ArtCafé Blog – to inform collectors, artists and community of what’s happening in the art world (the hyperlocal and the global)
• Initiated Wednesday Brown Bag Artist Lunchtime Lectures – featured artists present their work in the gallery
• Founded Westport Artists Collective – winner of ACE Award from The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County
Notable Exhibitions
2015
• Eric Fischl
• EAST meets WESTport: Marton Nemes
• Leonard Everett Fisher: A Retrospective
• Coney Island: Side Show – companion to Wadsworth Atheneum’s exhibition
2014
• Edward Burtynsky: Nature Speaks - from the Andrew and Christine Hall Collection.
• Scents & Soles: Robert Cottingham and Nina Bentley
• Abstract Notes: Smilow Cancer Hospital patients and their families
• On the Wire Veiled Rebellion - photo essay on Afghan women’s lives by Lynsey Addario
2013
• Chuck Close: Photo Maquettes
• Bird’s-Eye View - Richard Artschwager, David Maisel, Massimo Vitali and others from the Hall Collection
• William Wegman: The Traveler - postcard paintings
2012
• Pen Pals and Dreams: pen pal letters and drawings inspired by the Copper documentary
• Muse - works by Paul Cadmus, Jane Sutherland, Pablo Picasso, Chuck Close
• Landscape: Scene / Re-seen - photographs from the Hall Collection
• Toy Stories – Alexander Calder, Jeff Koons, Nick Cave, Charles Ray, Murakami, Tom Friedman, Peter Drake
• On Duty: Arnold Odermatt, Enrique Metinides & Arthur Felling (Weegee)
2011
• Malawi With Love a collaborative exhibition with Save the Children featuring artwork by Malawian children
• Christo and Jeanne-Claude
• Hope in Haiti: photographs by 50 children from the Carma Foundation Orphanage in Haiti
2010
• Divine Comedy: Drawings by R. Crumb and Roz Chast
• Memory: Works by Mayer Kirshenblatt, Leo Kok, Christian Boltanski, Sophie Calle, Anselm Keifer
2011 Curator, United Nations, New York, NY
• Champions to End Malaria – featuring PLATON
2000-2007 Gallery Director, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Notable Exhibitions (*Sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation)
2007
• James Rosenquist: The Speed of Light and Beyond*
2006
• WaxWorks: Jasper Johns, Robert Ryman*
• Culture & DNA: Science Meets Art
2005
• BUILD: Louis Kahn/Architecture/Sculpture*
• Consciousness and Process: The Digital in Sculpture, Photography, Animation*
2002
• Christo and Jeanne-Claude ‘Two Works in Progress*
• Paul Cadmus Retrospective*
2001
• Icons of Twentieth Century Photography
• Michael Mazur: Dante’s Inferno*
2000
• From Rembrandt to Ryman*
• A Little of Chelsea comes to Connecticut
ART CONSULTANT
2008- present Art Consultant, Art Dubai, New York Armory, Art Toronto
Art Consultant to liaise and host VIP Collectors
2009-2010 Public Art Project Consultant, UNICEF, Saatchi, NYC & Co.
Aided in the Above Water public art project
ARTS OUTREACH
2000 - present Juror/Valuation Panel
• New Haven Paint and Clay Club, 2013
• Deutscher-Menzies Auction House, Australia: NY Expert, International Art, 2000-present
• Innovation Design Awards: Juror, Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Magazine, CT, 2007
• Radius Emerging Artist Workshop: Presenter (hosted by The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary
Art, Ridgefield Guild of Artists & Westport Arts Center, CT), 2007
• Connecticut Commission of the Arts, CT, 2006 & 2007
• Tremaine Art Foundation: three person Jury of Contemporary curators, 2006
• Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
• Katonah Museum, Arts Panel, Katonah, NY
2010 Hope in Haiti
• Organized “Kids with Cameras” Carma House Foundation project where 50 orphans received
disposable cameras to photograph their lives in post-earthquake Haiti and then created the
“Hope in Haiti” exhibition.
• Documented post-earthquake Haiti photographs of hospitals, Port au Prince, and tent cities.
Sent to UNDP. Exhibited, Hope in Haiti, Westport Arts Center in 2010 and Saatchi + Saatchi NYC
in 2011.
2009 Guest Speaker, Center for Architecture, American Institute of Architecture (AIA)
• “Electric Fountain” at Rockefeller Center: A project by artists Tim Noble & Sue Webster from concept and fabrication, to installation. March 3. (http://iesny.org/)
2002 Moderator, “An Insiders Insight to the Art World,” Fairfield University
• A unique peek into New York City’s major “art world” players
• Five on-campus lecture seminars including: Thomas Krens, Director Guggenheim Museums, worldwide; Knight Landesman, Executive Publisher, ARTFORUM; Christopher Eykyn, Director, Impressionism & Modern Art, Christies Auction House; Paul Morris, Pioneer Chelsea Art Gallery Owner
1998-2001 Art Education After-School Program Director, Weston Public Schools, CT
• Developed and implemented hands-on after school enrichment program “Portrait of an Artist,”
an in-depth study of artists’ lives, technique and work
• Developed a two-week summer workshop: 20th Century Art, Music and Dance
CORPORATE MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT
1988– 1991 National Brand Manager, Pepperidge Farm Inc., Division of Campbell Soup Co., Rolls
• Managed 35 varieties of rolls and bakery products with over $60 million in sales revenue, nationally
• Managed Stuffing and Croutons nationally $60 million in revenue
1981, 1986 Marketing Director, Klissers Farmhouse Bakeries, Auckland, New Zealand
• Director of Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Research, Development and Distribution
• Implemented franchising and licensing projects for “Vogel’s” Bread in Holland, Hong Kong, and Singapore
EDUCATION
1983 - 1985 Auckland University, MBA program – 2 out of 3 years
1976 - 1979 Auckland University, BA Art History
LANGUAGES
English, Dutch, German
BOARD MEMBERSHIP
2012-2013 Weston, Westport Chamber of Commerce, CT
2008 Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
RECOGNITIONS
2016
• Gubernatorial Appointment to Connecticut Arts Council
• Received ACE (Arts & Culture Empowerment) Award from The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County for co-founding The Westport Artists’ Collective
2015
• Recognized by KEA as a World Class New Zealander
2011-2014
• Prizewinning Photojournalist, Society of Professional Journalists
2000-2012
• Received Tremaine Art Foundation Grants
1980
• University of Auckland Sportswoman of the Year
1973 - 1976
• New Zealand Ski Team
1991 - present
Helen Klisser During has shared her insider’s access to the art world with new and established private collectors and public/corporate institutions. She fosters relationships between clients, artists, galleries, museums, art fairs, and auction houses. Helen arranges site-specific commissions and customizes VIP art tours domestically and internationally.
She has curated hundreds of exhibitions with a vision to create a dialog within the art world, regardless of geographical position. Her exhibitions and projects aim to inspire, provoke thought, educate, and delight a range of audiences.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
1998 – present Photo Assignments
• Still photographer for Gaylene Preston's 2016 documentary "My Year With Helen"
• United Nations Development Program: Rwanda and Malawi – Documented Hon. Helen Clark, Director/Administrator UNDP, Oct 2012 trip
• AmeriCares - Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador (Overnight airlift 2011)
• Won awards for photojournalistic excellence in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Connecticut Chapter.
1998 - present Publications
• www.stuff.co.nz
National Portrait: Helen Clark, Gunning for Top UN Job, April 2016
Helen Clark Makes Pitch for Secretary General Job in Speech to United Nations, April 2016
• Richtopia.com
Powerful Women Secrets: Helen Clark (interview), May 2016
• The Art Market Report
• NYC & Co.
• Connecticut Cottages & Gardens
Cover photo, November 2014
Vantage Point, November 2014
Venice Bienniale, September 2013
Takin' It to the Streets, September 2013
Down at the Farm, September 2007
• Hamptons Cottages and Gardens
• Art New Zealand
Cover photo, Spring 1998
• WestportNOW.com
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / CURATOR / GALLERY DIRECTOR
2016 -present Artistic Director Emeritus Westport Arts Center, Westport, CT
2010 - 2015 Artistic Director, Westport Arts Center, Westport, CT
Notable Programs
• Founded ArtCafé – weekly gathering of artists, collectors and art lovers to review events in the art world
• Created ArtCafé Blog – to inform collectors, artists and community of what’s happening in the art world (the hyperlocal and the global)
• Initiated Wednesday Brown Bag Artist Lunchtime Lectures – featured artists present their work in the gallery
• Founded Westport Artists Collective – winner of ACE Award from The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County
Notable Exhibitions
2015
• Eric Fischl
• EAST meets WESTport: Marton Nemes
• Leonard Everett Fisher: A Retrospective
• Coney Island: Side Show – companion to Wadsworth Atheneum’s exhibition
2014
• Edward Burtynsky: Nature Speaks - from the Andrew and Christine Hall Collection.
• Scents & Soles: Robert Cottingham and Nina Bentley
• Abstract Notes: Smilow Cancer Hospital patients and their families
• On the Wire Veiled Rebellion - photo essay on Afghan women’s lives by Lynsey Addario
2013
• Chuck Close: Photo Maquettes
• Bird’s-Eye View - Richard Artschwager, David Maisel, Massimo Vitali and others from the Hall Collection
• William Wegman: The Traveler - postcard paintings
2012
• Pen Pals and Dreams: pen pal letters and drawings inspired by the Copper documentary
• Muse - works by Paul Cadmus, Jane Sutherland, Pablo Picasso, Chuck Close
• Landscape: Scene / Re-seen - photographs from the Hall Collection
• Toy Stories – Alexander Calder, Jeff Koons, Nick Cave, Charles Ray, Murakami, Tom Friedman, Peter Drake
• On Duty: Arnold Odermatt, Enrique Metinides & Arthur Felling (Weegee)
2011
• Malawi With Love a collaborative exhibition with Save the Children featuring artwork by Malawian children
• Christo and Jeanne-Claude
• Hope in Haiti: photographs by 50 children from the Carma Foundation Orphanage in Haiti
2010
• Divine Comedy: Drawings by R. Crumb and Roz Chast
• Memory: Works by Mayer Kirshenblatt, Leo Kok, Christian Boltanski, Sophie Calle, Anselm Keifer
2011 Curator, United Nations, New York, NY
• Champions to End Malaria – featuring PLATON
2000-2007 Gallery Director, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Notable Exhibitions (*Sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation)
2007
• James Rosenquist: The Speed of Light and Beyond*
2006
• WaxWorks: Jasper Johns, Robert Ryman*
• Culture & DNA: Science Meets Art
2005
• BUILD: Louis Kahn/Architecture/Sculpture*
• Consciousness and Process: The Digital in Sculpture, Photography, Animation*
2002
• Christo and Jeanne-Claude ‘Two Works in Progress*
• Paul Cadmus Retrospective*
2001
• Icons of Twentieth Century Photography
• Michael Mazur: Dante’s Inferno*
2000
• From Rembrandt to Ryman*
• A Little of Chelsea comes to Connecticut
ART CONSULTANT
2008- present Art Consultant, Art Dubai, New York Armory, Art Toronto
Art Consultant to liaise and host VIP Collectors
2009-2010 Public Art Project Consultant, UNICEF, Saatchi, NYC & Co.
Aided in the Above Water public art project
ARTS OUTREACH
2000 - present Juror/Valuation Panel
• New Haven Paint and Clay Club, 2013
• Deutscher-Menzies Auction House, Australia: NY Expert, International Art, 2000-present
• Innovation Design Awards: Juror, Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Magazine, CT, 2007
• Radius Emerging Artist Workshop: Presenter (hosted by The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary
Art, Ridgefield Guild of Artists & Westport Arts Center, CT), 2007
• Connecticut Commission of the Arts, CT, 2006 & 2007
• Tremaine Art Foundation: three person Jury of Contemporary curators, 2006
• Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
• Katonah Museum, Arts Panel, Katonah, NY
2010 Hope in Haiti
• Organized “Kids with Cameras” Carma House Foundation project where 50 orphans received
disposable cameras to photograph their lives in post-earthquake Haiti and then created the
“Hope in Haiti” exhibition.
• Documented post-earthquake Haiti photographs of hospitals, Port au Prince, and tent cities.
Sent to UNDP. Exhibited, Hope in Haiti, Westport Arts Center in 2010 and Saatchi + Saatchi NYC
in 2011.
2009 Guest Speaker, Center for Architecture, American Institute of Architecture (AIA)
• “Electric Fountain” at Rockefeller Center: A project by artists Tim Noble & Sue Webster from concept and fabrication, to installation. March 3. (http://iesny.org/)
2002 Moderator, “An Insiders Insight to the Art World,” Fairfield University
• A unique peek into New York City’s major “art world” players
• Five on-campus lecture seminars including: Thomas Krens, Director Guggenheim Museums, worldwide; Knight Landesman, Executive Publisher, ARTFORUM; Christopher Eykyn, Director, Impressionism & Modern Art, Christies Auction House; Paul Morris, Pioneer Chelsea Art Gallery Owner
1998-2001 Art Education After-School Program Director, Weston Public Schools, CT
• Developed and implemented hands-on after school enrichment program “Portrait of an Artist,”
an in-depth study of artists’ lives, technique and work
• Developed a two-week summer workshop: 20th Century Art, Music and Dance
CORPORATE MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT
1988– 1991 National Brand Manager, Pepperidge Farm Inc., Division of Campbell Soup Co., Rolls
• Managed 35 varieties of rolls and bakery products with over $60 million in sales revenue, nationally
• Managed Stuffing and Croutons nationally $60 million in revenue
1981, 1986 Marketing Director, Klissers Farmhouse Bakeries, Auckland, New Zealand
• Director of Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Research, Development and Distribution
• Implemented franchising and licensing projects for “Vogel’s” Bread in Holland, Hong Kong, and Singapore
EDUCATION
1983 - 1985 Auckland University, MBA program – 2 out of 3 years
1976 - 1979 Auckland University, BA Art History
LANGUAGES
English, Dutch, German
BOARD MEMBERSHIP
2012-2013 Weston, Westport Chamber of Commerce, CT
2008 Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
RECOGNITIONS
2016
• Gubernatorial Appointment to Connecticut Arts Council
• Received ACE (Arts & Culture Empowerment) Award from The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County for co-founding The Westport Artists’ Collective
2015
• Recognized by KEA as a World Class New Zealander
2011-2014
• Prizewinning Photojournalist, Society of Professional Journalists
2000-2012
• Received Tremaine Art Foundation Grants
1980
• University of Auckland Sportswoman of the Year
1973 - 1976
• New Zealand Ski Team
