Call for applications: Wild Creations residencies

MEDIA RELEASE

Date: 31 May 2005

Call for applications to Wild Creations artist residencies

Artists interested in taking part in the 2006 Wild Creations artist residency programme, part of a partnership between Creative New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, have until Wednesday 31 August 2005 to submit their applications.

This is the fourth year that the Wild Creations programme has been offered. It 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 environment.

The six-week residencies are open to professional practising artists working in any artform and cultural tradition. They have a choice of 22 sites in conservation areas throughout New Zealand.

Artists selected for the residencies must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents. The Department of Conservation hosts the artists during their residencies and Creative New Zealand provides a stipend of $5000, plus up to $1000 for travel and materials, to each artist.

Theatre performer and puppeteer Rebekah Wild, one of last year’s recipients, spent her six-week residency near Okarito on the West Coast. She relished the chance to draw directly from the natural environment and says she felt “transformed” by the experience.

“The residency gave me a chance to focus on the natural environment as a source of inspiration,” she says. “One of the challenges was to create work that captures the fragility of the environment, while at the same time ensuring integrity between the materials, images and themes.

“Staying in a DOC hut with the chance to focus completely on this project – for me, it was total luxury.”

Artists selected for the 2005 programme were Auckland multi-media artist Tabatha Forbes, who chose Kingston in Southland as her location; Raglan mixed-media artist Waikarere Gregory, who chose Aniwaniwa in Te Urewera National Park; and audio artist and composer Alison Isadora, who chose Bannockburn, Central Otago.

A selection panel, made up of Creative New Zealand and Department of Conservation representatives, will select the three artists to undertake the 2006 residencies. The selected artists will be notified by the end of November 2005.

Artists are expected to select their preferred site before submitting their proposals. These locations are described in the guidelines and information pack, available from the Department of Conservation. They can also be downloaded from the Community section under the sponsorships and partnerships link of the Department of Conservation website (www.doc.govt.nz).

Artists should contact Anne McLean (04-471 3143 Email: amclean@doc.govt.nz) for more information about the residencies.

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