Image by Wayne Martin, Times Newspapers Ltd.
History
From its beginnings in 1967 as a part-time course at Tamaki College, The Nanette Cameron School has become a leading design education facility. With a long history of empowering students through creative practice, the School continues to produce forward-thinking designers who shape the future of the industry in New Zealand.
Nanette Cameron started working in interior design in Auckland in the 1950s, then she turned her focus to teaching and writing about interior design. Her courses began in 1967 as a night class at Tamaki College and in 1975 became The Nanette Cameron School of Interior Design. Nanette has become an icon to successive generations who owe their knowledge of good design to her teaching. She has opened the eyes and minds of thousands of students to the possibilities that knowledge of art and design can offer for the enrichment of life.
Nanette has been a significant contributor to the creation of an Auckland milieu that allows the world of architects, designers, artists and the creative industries to be appreciated and supported by the local community. Through her engagement with a wide range of creative professionals in both New Zealand and Australia, she has expanded the fields of interior design practice and appreciation.
Nanette played a major role in the formation of the Pakuranga Arts Society in the 1960s. It was her dedication and vision which saw the Pakuranga Community and Cultural Centre open in 1974. Nanette was again a major player in the establishment of the Fisher Gallery, now Te Tuhi, which opened in 1984. The Nanette Cameron School of Interior Design is now owned by Te Tuhi.
Nanette was a founding member, and later an honorary member, of the Designers Institute of New Zealand. In 2004 Nanette was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal for her contribution to her community, and in 2013 the exhibition Nanette Cameron: Objectspace Master of Craft and book Nanette Cameron: Interior Design Legend recognised her achievements and legacy as an industry icon.
She retired formally in 2016 and passed in 2023, but her legacy lives on in the teaching of this course.
Watch: The Single Object: Wallace Chapman & Nanette Cameron (2019)