Te Tuhi and Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) have selected Melanie Tangaere Baldwin (Ngāti Porou) as the recipient of a 4-week residency in the UK in late 2024.
The residency will allow the Tūranga Nui a Kiwa Gisborne-based artist, curator and arts educator to learn about global art practices, and covers travel, accommodation, living costs, materials and technical support.
Baldwin is interested in how pūrakau contribute to a more hopeful and empowered future for our mokopuna. “I'm really humbled to have been given the privilege of this residency,” the artist says. “I'm really excited to be able to have time, space and resource to begin researching and creating a new body of work in this unexpected and undoubtedly inspiring environment.”
Louise Lohr, Deputy Curator at YSP, selected Baldwin from a shortlist of artists and said: “The Curatorial team were particularly drawn to her narratives around contemporary Māori art practice and its international position, intergenerational strength and traditions of storytelling. The residency provides a platform for the dynamic exchange of knowledge and ideas, and we are looking forward to sharing in this experience with Melanie.”
Hiraani Himona, Executive Director of Te Tuhi, said she was thrilled by the selection. “We are confident that Melanie will make the most of this opportunity and use it not just to enrich her own practice, but to proactively support Māori artists and connect indigenous communities across Aotearoa and abroad.”
The residency is supported by the British Council Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific. "We are delighted to support this exciting residency opportunity for Melanie Tangaere Baldwin at Yorkshire Sculpture Park," said Natasha Beckman, Director for British Council New Zealand and the Pacific. "This programme exemplifies our commitment to fostering cultural exchange between Aotearoa New Zealand and the UK. We believe that Melanie's unique perspective and artistic practice will contribute significantly to the rich dialogue between our two nations, while also providing her with invaluable international experience to further develop her craft."
Baldwin is the third recipient of this award, the first being Mount Maunganui-based artist Darcell Apelu in 2019. The second was Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland artist Deborah Rundle in 2020, who will be showing the outcomes of her residency in a small exhibition at YSP in November 2024.
About the recipient artist
Melanie Tangaere Baldwin (Ngāti Porou) is a māmā of two, a multi-disciplinary artist, curator, and arts educator. She is a founder and current director of HOEA! Gallery in Tūranga Nui a Kiwa, Gisborne. Her work is research-based and largely focused on Te Ao Māori, Mana Wahine, stereotyping of indigenous peoples and the effects of settler colonialism on notions of power, beauty and worth.
About YSP
Attracting over 380,000 visitors annually, YSP is a charity and an internationally renowned museum for modern and contemporary sculpture, presenting work by some of the world’s most extraordinary artists in over 500 acres of 18th century parkland and three galleries. Artists currently on display include Bharti Kher, Daniel Arsham, Vanessa da Silva, Jaume Plensa, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Damien Hirst. In addition to a world-class exhibitions programme, displays from the collection, and support for artists through residencies, YSP engages with over 40,000 people each year through its diverse Learning and Engagement programmes, including work with families, pre-school children, post-graduate students, people with dementia, and hard to reach young people.
For more information about YSP visit ysp.org.uk or email comms@ysp.org.uk
About Te Tuhi
Te Tuhi is a leading platform for contemporary art in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a programme consciously and continually shaped towards rigorous, adventurous, and socially engaged artistic experimentation. Alongside the gallery in Pakuranga, Te Tuhi studios offers artists spaces to work in Parnell, adjacent to the Parnell Project Space, an exhibition, performance and event space located on the platform at Parnell Station, Tāmaki Makaurau. Te Tuhi also works extensively with multiple communities in East Auckland.
About British Council Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries globally. Through arts and culture, British Council Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific works to connect the people of Aotearoa New Zealand and the UK. The British Council operates in in over 200 countries and territories around the world and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2022-23 we reached 600 million people.
Images
Portrait of Melanie Tangaere Baldwin. Courtesy of the artist.
Melanie Tangaere Baldwin. Hinetītama (detail), 2023. Courtesy of the artist.
Melanie Tangaere Baldwin, Matekite, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.