26 May 2019

Indigenous Artist Exchange

From Standing Room Only, 1:32 pm on 26 May 2019

International Artist residency schemes are increasingly popular, but it can be problematic travelling to a new place and making friends.   Welcome then is the inaugural  Canberra Wellington Indigenous Artist Exchange programme. Not only does it support a Wellington artist to go to Canberra for six weeks, but a Canberra-based Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artist comes to  Wellington.  And the artists are on hand to help each other acclimatise.

The inaugural pair are Wellington artist Ana Iti, of Te Rarawa descent, and Australian artist Dean Cross of Worimi descent.   Dean was last in Wellington during the New Zealand Festival as a dancer.  Mark Amery talks to Dean and Ana,shortly after they met for the first time.

In that interview Ana mentioned the story of Shona Rapira Davies creating Te Aro Park in Wellington.  There was a famous documentary by Pamela Meekings Stewart about that fascinating story.