• Deborah Rundle selected for Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Te Tuhi Residency Award

Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Te Tuhi are delighted to announce Tāmaki Makaurau artist Deborah Rundle as the recipient of the 2020 Residency Award.

Supported by philanthropists Sigrid and Stephen Kirk, and in partnership with Te Tuhi, Rundle will be taking up a 4-week residency on site at the internationally renowned Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP). She is the second recipient of this award, the first being Mount Maunganui artist Darcell Apelu in 2019.

Applications for the residency were shortlisted by independent curator Vera Mey, with Te Tuhi’s Executive Director, Hiraani Himona and Programme Manager, Andrew Kennedy. Te Tuhi sent the shortlist of six proposals to Yorkshire Sculpture Park who made the final selection. Mey said, of Rundle’s application, “Deborah Rundle presented a thorough, well researched proposal which aims to investigate the intriguing history of Ann Ellis who in 1875 led a group of 9000 women and men on strike action in Dewsbury, just eight miles from where Yorkshire Sculpture Park is now situated.”

The curatorial team at Yorkshire Sculpture Park were impressed by the quality of the artists who applied. Clare Lilley, YSP’s Director of Programme, says, "It was such a pleasure to read through the extremely strong shortlist. Deborah Rundle’s proposal made our spines tingle and it’s very exciting to be introduced to some intriguing local history by an artist on the other side of the world.”

Rundle has proposed a commemoration of sorts of the women’s strike committee and of Ann Ellis, through artworks that link actions from the past with contemporary issues and actors. Rundle says, “In this project, I hope to call up the past to reappear as a reminder of the failings of the present. As today’s workers navigate their way in the field of labour, especially in the light of the challenges posed by Covid-19 and the climate emergency, it is clear that things should not continue as they are.”

Deborah Rundle graduated from Elam School of Art at The University of Auckland with an MFA in 2017. In addition to her personal art practice, she is a member of the artist collective Public Share, which employs a socially and politically engaged art practice, and is a member of the artist run space RM. Rundle’s practice focusses on language as a means to explore power relations. She has a particular interest in the machinations of late capitalism.

The YSP residency includes 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. Dates for the residency will be confirmed when travel is possible, and in the meantime YSP will work with Rundle to prepare for the opportunity.