Te Angiangi Marine Reserve

Three Wild Creations
artists announced

The Department of Conservation and Creative New Zealand have selected three artists to take part in the inaugural Wild Creations artist-in-residence programme. The three artists are filmmaker Zoe Roland, sculptor Christine Hellyar, and writer/performer Jo Randerson.

The Wild Creations programme aims to foster links between conservation and artists by encouraging them to create work inspired by New Zealand’s unique places, people, stories and natural environments.

More than 150 artists applied for the six-week residencies and the selection panel says the calibre of the applications was high. “What made the proposals of these three artists stand out from the other excellent proposals is that the artists expressed clearly their commitment to experiencing everything the residency could offer and creating work inspired by that experience.”

DOC Director-General Hugh Logan says the high level of interest in Wild Creations reflects the importance of the natural world in people’s lives.

“New Zealanders have a real connection with the environment and that’s reflected in our writing and art,” he says. “I’m sure the artists chosen for these residencies will create works that inspire us to see our natural and historic heritage with fresh eyes. DOC is pleased to have worked so closely with Creative New Zealand to make this happen.”

Creative New Zealand Chief Executive Elizabeth Kerr describes the response to the inaugural Wild Creations residencies as overwhelming.

“We’re delighted that the Department of Conservation has embraced this partnership and recognised its potential,” she says. “The threading together of these two strands – New Zealand’s natural environment and its creative people – is certain to produce outstanding artistic work, which will provide insights into our country and our culture.”

The three residencies:

- Wellington writer/performer Jo Randerson will stay at Te Angiangi Marine Reserve and Cape Kidnappers from October till December, writing short stories and developing a solo theatre performance. She says she is interested in the conservation of New Zealand’s national identity, knowledge and spirit, and she plans to explore this in her stories and theatre work.

- Auckland sculptor Christine Hellyar will stay at Egmont National Park early next year and will use that time to build a collection of works (sculpture, photographs and drawings) for exhibition. Among other things, she wants to take photographs of light and explore notions of enlightenment; draw plants on clay tablets and arrange these in hierarchies; and work with the idea of vegetation as the cloak on the body of the land.

- Christchurch filmmaker Zoe Roland will stay at Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf during the middle part of next year to record a video about the island’s flora and fauna. An experimental documentary filmmaker, her work deals with themes of memory, preservation, storytelling and experiences of the New Zealand landscape.

DOC will host the artists during their residencies and Creative New Zealand will provide a stipend of $5000, plus up to $1000 for travel and materials, to each artist.

ENDS

For further information or interviews with the artists, please contact:
Cushla Managh
Senior Media Officer
Department of Conservation
Tel: 04-471-3117 or 0274-846-810

Iona McNaughton
Writer, Communications and Advocacy
Creative New Zealand
Tel: 04-498 0715