Kate van der Drift
Kate van der Drift (b.1985 Aotearoa, New Zealand) is a contemporary photographic artist living and working in Aotearoa. Her practice is rooted in a deep engagement with ecological processes, human relationships to place, and the possibilities of photography as a form of attentive listening and collaborative storytelling.
Born in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton, in 1985, van der Drift studied at the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in 2022. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at Pah Homestead called Listening to a Wet Land (2023), comprising video work and a series of river exposures and Dance Dance (2025) at Sanderson Contemporary as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography. Four of these works have been recently purchased for the permanent collection at Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand and will be exhibited in 2026 as part of an exhibition on women in photography in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2024, Kate won the highly commended prize in the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award; she won the Uxbridge Malcolm Smith Gallery Art and Ecology Award in 2020 and the Stoneleigh New Zealand Artist Grant to make new work for the Melbourne Art Fair in 2018. Kate is represented by Sanderson Contemporary in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland and works from Halide Studios in Whāingaroa/Raglan.
Over the past decade, Kate has balanced her work as an art educator with commissioned photographic projects. She has taught photography at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, and through various adult education programmes, and is currently developing an online learning platform called Art Photo School. Her professional practice spans advertising, fashion, and editorial photography, collaborating with a diverse range of clients and creative teams. This combination of teaching and professional experience informs her approach at Halide Studios, where she shares both the technical and conceptual foundations of contemporary photographic practice.
Available Works at the Studio
Works
Available Works at the Studio
Select Projects
Select Projects
Select Projects
Tracing Intricacies. Group Show at Webbs Wellington featuring artists Connah Podmore, Karen Rubado, and Helen Reynolds.
From Things Flow. Group exhibition and publishing project with Teresa Peters, Shelley Simpson, Kathryn Tulloch at RM Gallery.
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Select Projects
Water Marks. Billboards for Art Ache in cities around Aotearoa.
Listening to a Wet Land. Solo exhibition at Pah Homestead.
Water Slows As It Rounds The Bend, Outdoor Lightboxes as part of Auckland Festival of Photography.
Tracing Intricacies. Group Show at Webbs Wellington featuring artists Connah Podmore, Karen Rubado, and Helen Reynolds.
From Things Flow. Group exhibition and publishing project with Teresa Peters, Shelley Simpson, Kathryn Tulloch at RM Gallery.
Newsletter
Be the first to know about our events,
exhibitions, artists and much more
© Copyright 2025. Halide Studios.
All Rights Reserved.