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Masterton District

( This Residency ran from 2016  to 2020. )

The purpose of this opportunity was both to support the artist and to enrich the Masterton District. The artist engaged in their creative practice as well as with the community. 

Sponsor: Masterton District Council Community Development Grant.

2020: Kerri McGill, from Boston. Kerri McGill's art practice is mixed-media map collage dreamscapes which she describes as "poetic observations of humanity". Maps are a starting point for her Fellowship, reflecting on the beauty of the Wairarapa landscape. She has presented at Masterton Art Club, Wai Art and Wai Word; created from a studio at ConArt; collaborated with the Outdoor Poems project at Jackson Street in Masterton; and held a solo exhibition at The Miracle Room in Featherston. 

2019: Dani Henke, Wellington-based sculptor, originally from the American Midwest. Her Masterton District Fellowship project involved creating a Wairarapa landscape and sunset made with discarded materials and found objects, with a focus on plastic in particular - much os which was collected in Masterton during her residency.  She led a collaborative art project at Masterton District Library. Dani exhibited at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History as part of Seaweek 2020.

2018: Jhan Lindsay, Wellington-based musician, composer and teacher. The three-week residency provided her with an opportunity to compose a series of work set in the Wairarapa, to investigate local history, and to share her love of music and performance with young local musicians and the local arts community. She worked with students across the region on her new music, and performed at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History.

2017: Philomena van Rijswijk, poet, fiction writer, Tasmania. During her residency, Philomena worked on developing a series of short stories and interviewed several Wairarapa residents for an insight into the local living environment. She also led a session at Masterton District Library and a writing workshop as part of Featherston Booktown.

2016: Inaugural year, Gaye Sutton, writer/story practitioner, Wairarapa. Gaye Sutton undertook her residency in March 2016, with the World Storytelling Day falling within her Fellowship period. She made progress on her manuscript, Changing the World One Story at a Time, facilitated a workshop with young students in Mauriceville, and led a session in Masterton for adults: BYO Story on World Storytelling Day.