Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Te Tuhi are delighted to announce Darcell Apelu as the recipient of the 2019 UK Residency Award.

Supported by philanthropists Sigrid and Stephen Kirk, and in partnership with Te Tuhi, Apelu will be taking up a 4 week residency on site at the internationally renowned Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) in October 2019.

The residency will include flights, accommodation and expenses, as well as access to a studio and metal and wood workshops, making this a rare fully-funded opportunity. In addition, YSP’s own curator and technicians will be providing support during the artist’s stay.

Te Tuhi received over 100 applications for the residency, covering a broad range of artistic practice and career stages. Te Tuhi, along with independent curator Bruce E. Phillips, managed to whittle this down to a longlist of exceptional proposals to submit to YSP, who made the final selection.

Says Te Tuhi Executive Director Hiraani Himona, “We are thrilled to work with YSP to offer this unique residency opportunity, and we are very happy with YSP’s selection. Although there is no pressure to make any artworks during this residency, we are incredibly excited to see how Darcell will use her time.”

YSP Deputy Curator, Damon Jackson-Waldock says, “We’re delighted to have received so many strong applications and saw a great wealth of talent. We selected Darcell as she is exploring interesting themes of identity and thought she would make the most of the residency by sharing new ideas with our visitors in Yorkshire. Investing in young and emerging artists internationally has always been at the heart of what YSP does, offering opportunities for them to reflect and move forward with their practice. Over the years we have worked for artists from 50 different countries but this presents YSP with the chance to work with an artist from New Zealand for the first time”.

Apelu is an artist of Niuean and New Zealand European descent who completed her Masters of Art and Design from Auckland University of Technology in 2013. The Mount Maunganui-raised artist works across moving image, sound, performance and installation. Her practice is informed by her experiences as an afakasi female and she uses her body as a way to address this ‘otherness’.

Apelu is also a highly regarded international competitive wood chopper which has a subtle impact throughout her practice. In the now seminal performance piece, New Zealand Axemen's Association: Women’s Sub Committee President, 2014, the artist uses her skills to strike out against assumptions about her identity.

Situated on a 500-acre, 18th-century estate in West Yorkshire, YSP was the first sculpture park in the UK. Established in 1977, it is the largest of its kind in Europe and showcases over 80 works in the open air by world-class artists including Ai Weiwei, Phyllida Barlow, Andy Goldsworthy, Barbara Hepworth, Roger Hiorns, Sol LeWitt, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Dennis Oppenheim and James Turrell.

“We hope that this is the start of a long-term relationship between Te Tuhi and YSP,” says Himona. “Te Tuhi is committed to supporting artists throughout all stages of their career, and opportunities like these not only help individual artists to develop professionally, but create stronger networks between NZ and the UK.”