The Ultimate Creative Masterclass - Marsden’s Artist In Residence Programme

Mix a professional creative artist with impressionable students eager to learn and the results can be quite transformative – the ultimate outcome of the Samuel Marsden Collegiate School Artist in Residence programme. Marsden established its Artist in Residence Programme in 1999 and continues each year to build a legacy of strong associations with professional practising artists and designers.

This year’s Marsden Artist in Residence is New Zealand-born painter, Monique Barnett. Monique is holding her exhibition ‘affectionate wanderings through spaces both real and imagined’ at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, 1 Queens Wharf, Wellington from 1-22 July.

Monique's work often consists of paintings where figures and bodies skew and morph in fictive spaces. Recently she has expanded her concerns into materiality and installation. Painting and drawing techniques are used to navigate how the body and personhood connect to space and the flow of the contemporary era. Monique's expanded approach to painting attempts to open opportunities within painting, where materials layer in space and lead to unfolding possibilities. Monique will present a series of figurative paintings, large scale paintings on organza fabric, and a series of drawings on vellum.

Having recently returned to New Zealand, Monique commenced her five-week residency at Marsden on 2 May. In residence, she works with senior art students on their portfolios and holds workshops for Marsden students, as well as students from other area schools, while developing a body of work for a solo exhibition. Her work with students involves creating 3D dioramas, photographing them, and then using those photographs to create unique paintings.

‘I have enjoyed my time here at Marsden, it has been rewarding to observe the students enjoy the experience of tactile making. Building a diorama is a playful experiment that can develop into new, surprising and unexpected work. It has been a great pleasure to share this process of creative discovery with the students.’

Monique completed a Bachelor in Fine Arts at Canterbury University School of Fine Arts. After graduating in 2009, she relocated to Melbourne where she held solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group and curated projects. In 2018 she was awarded an 18-month residence in Frappant e.V. in Hamburg, Germany. Her works are held in collections in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and America.

‘Monique has challenged students to look at composition in a fresh and exciting way,’ said Marsden’s Head of Visual Arts, Kathryn Cotter. ‘They have discovered that you can draw in three dimensions as a basis for future artworks.’ Students’ work will also be on show at the exhibition that begins 1 July.

Samuel Marsden Collegiate School has been providing quality independent education for more than 140 years. Marsden provides education for girls from Years 1 – 13 and has a co-ed Preschool. Marsden’s vision is to lay the foundation for lives of meaning, accomplishment and genuine happiness. marsden.school.nz

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