Ben Barraud - Head of Design, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Ben Barraud is Head of Design at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa). Over his career, he has worked extensively in both film and exhibition design, most recently as Lead Designer on Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War, an award-winning collaboration with Sir Richard Taylor’s Weta Workshop. Gallipoli has merged museum design and film-making techniques in groundbreaking ways, and set new records for visitation.

Ben has been an Art Director on many major film productions in New Zealand and New York, where he was based for 15 years. His credits include Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, the critically acclaimed Julie and Julia, and Robert Altman’s Prairie Home Companion – all the way to Disney’s College Road Trip. He has also designed for commercials, music videos, and TV shows.

At Te Papa, Ben has designed a wide array of exhibitions, from history shows such as Aztecs: Conquest and Glory to art exhibitions like European Masters.

Frith Williams - Head of Exhibition Content, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Frith Williams is Head of Exhibition Content at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa). In 2015, she was a Fulbright Scholar in the US, exploring uses of new technology in museum storytelling, and opportunities to increase bilingual/bicultural content. 

Frith has played key storytelling roles in exhibitions ranging from Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War – an award-winning collaboration with Weta Workshop and Te Papa’s most successful exhibition ever – to Warhol: Immortal and Kahu Ora, a showcase of Māori cloaks. She’s particularly interested in immersive storytelling that merges physical and digital worlds.

Previously, Frith worked in educational publishing, developing early interactive resources such as the internationally award-winning America’s Cup website TACTICS, and a multimedia resource on indigenous Pacific navigation for UNESCO. She has also edited many children’s books. 

Frith has resided in Europe, Latin America, and the US, where she studied film-making at the University of California. She speaks three languages and has travelled extensively by bicycle.

Kevin Lim - Deputy Director, Co:Lab X - An Innovation Lab of National Gallery Singapore

National Gallery Singapore is an exciting platform showcasing Southeast Asian visual arts to a global audience. The Gallery spans around 64,000sqm, occupies the neoclassical buildings of former Supreme Court and City Hall, and aims to be a world-class art institution featuring both permanent collections and changing exhibitions that places Singapore on the world stage of visual arts.

For a half a billion dollar start-up (the cost of conserving and refurbishing the buildings), the Singapore government sees National Gallery Singapore as a major step forward in helping to establish the visual art ecosystem necessary to support the cultural needs of our citizens, regional neighbors and beyond. To do so, a creative tension exists where the twin goals of the Gallery seeks a) to promote artistic excellence among cultural peers, yet to do so b) in an accessible and engaging way for the general public.

To help enable this, Kevin covers several areas at the Gallery, including:

1. User Experience: Audience segmentation, visitor journeys and feedback systems to assess how Gallery could better serve our community

2. Visitor Analytics: Leveraging tools like Wifi, iBeacons, Computer Vision, and Data Visualization to study our visitors’ traits and preferences

3. Interactive Development: Developing interactive touchpoints (eg Gallery Explorer App) which enable visitors to take DIY tours and navigate to key artworks

Kevin Lim graduated with a doctorate from the State University at Buffalo, New York and his work has revolved on the architecture of modern society