Adventurous artist sought for parks residency - applications from writers welcomed

17 January 2013

Applications are now open for Auckland Council‘s 2013 regional parks arts residency, which this year is based in the Waitakere Ranges.

The selection panel is looking for innovative and park-specific concepts which can later be shared in some way with park visitors. Residency applications are welcomed from a range of artists – writers, film makers and composers can apply, as well as visual artists.

Councillor Sandra Coney, Chair of the Parks, Recreation and Heritage Forum hopes the successful applicant will bring a fresh interpretation of the Waitakere Ranges area to their artwork.

“There are many professional artists working in the Waitakere Ranges and many art projects are already underway but we are seeking a new angle and hope to reveal some subtle, striking or unusual aspect of the park via the residency,” she says.

This year the selected artist will live and work within the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. They have a choice of working from the refurbished Craw Homestead (Anawhata) or from Barr Cottage, a quaint seaside cottage at Little Huia (below)
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The Waitakere Ranges offers endless opportunities for exploration and ever-changing sources of inspiration. Applicant’s concepts could focus on a single small detail or on something grand.

Artist in Residence programme manager Michelle Edge says council’s residency experience has influenced previous artists in significant ways.

“Interestingly, our programme has encouraged some artists to change mediums and even where they live and work. For others it has lead to awareness, appreciation and interest in a whole new subject matter,” she says.

Applications for the 2013 programme must be received by 5pm, 15 February 2013. The residency is for eight weeks, from mid-October to mid-December. Go to www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz (keywords: Artist in Residence) for further information and application forms or phone 09 365 3189 or 09 301 7203.

More:

Artist in Residence programme
*       Encourages artists into our regional parks and  generates new original material about the parks to share with the public.
*       Artists need to be adventurous, flexible, mature, self sufficient and independent.
*       The residency moves from park to park each year to generate interest and create new interpretive material for different places.
*       Artists must be New Zealand born or have New Zealand residency to be eligible.
*       Artists need to apply for the residency and create a brief proposal or concept to work on.
*       Open to artists working across many mediums. So far we have hosted a poet, installation artist, composer, a printmaker and several painters.
*       Auckland Council regional park Artist in Residence 2012 was James Ormsby. See our website <http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/newseventsculture/Arts/Pages/artprogrammes.aspx>  for information about James’s residency and previous artists in residence.