Kate Hursthouse

CreativeMornings Auckland is BACK in person! Join us to meet Kate Hursthouse: artist, illustrator, creative entrepreneur, and mother.

Kate is passionate about the impact that art, colour and creativity can have on a space, a home, and a person's life. A former architect, she took an early retirement from that career to pursue graphic design and illustration. Focussing on calligraphy and hand lettering, Kate created custom work for a wide range for businesses and brands. It took motherhood, and the disruption of a global pandemic, to give Kate the courage to pursue the career she’s dreamt of since her days spent in her high school art department.

During the pandemic, Kate began to channel the contextual chaos into vibrant, abstract art. Her pieces explore the idea of contained chaos, testing the limitations of colour, pattern and form.

Kate’s work has taken on a number of forms over the years, from contemporary art, to children’s book illustrations, to hand-painted murals. A highlight of her career so far has been creating artworks that were gifted to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Māori King Kiingi Tūheitia.

For Kate, art is a reflection of emotion, a recognition that there is always beauty amongst the chaos, and her goal is to help women to find their own place of joy and calm through colour and creativity. Speaking to the theme of ‘matriarchy’ in this month’s breakfast lecture, Kate will talk about the impact of motherhood on women, creativity and business.