Asia Awaits For New Zealand Art Practitioners

Thirteen New Zealand-based arts practitioners have been awarded funding to undertake opportunities in Asia thanks to the return of Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Arts Practitioner Fund.

The purpose of the Foundation’s arts programme is to bring Asia into the mainstream of New Zealand arts by inspiring New Zealand arts professionals to grow their connections and knowledge of the region. One way of achieving this is through the Arts Practitioner Fund.

The fund supports individual New Zealand-based arts practitioners (artists and other arts professionals) to deepen artistic and professional connections with Asia through the likes of residencies, work placements, research tours and exchanges.

As a result of the pandemic and international travel restrictions, this latest round of arts practitioners funding is the first the Foundation has offered since 2020.

Previous recipients of the fund have shown that the deeper understanding of Asia that arts practitioners develop thanks to their experiences in the region is amplified to a wider audience through their works and connections in New Zealand. An example of this is previous funding recipient Show Me Shorts Film Festival director Gina Dellabarca who created a Japan-focused film programme for the 2020 festival in New Zealand after returning from her Practitioners Fund-supported experience at the 21st Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo.

Another example is recipient artist and writer Lipika Sen who exhibited the works she created during her 2019 residency at Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj Odisha, India, after returning to New Zealand.

Foundation director Arts Craig Cooper says the return of the Arts Practitioners Fund is a key element of the Foundation’s support of artistic connections between New Zealand and Asia.

“We are thrilled to have the Arts Practitioners Fund back up and running after a challenging period for the arts industry.

“The fund can once again provide support for New Zealand artists and practitioners to engage with Asia, enabling them to continue producing meaningful and impactful work.

“The arts are essential for deepening our understanding across cultures, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact the fund has on the New Zealand arts sector.”

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