• Govett-Brewster Art Gallery will administer the residency and applications are now open for the inaugural pilot Pacific Co-ordinator Residency and closes on 23 August.

Creative New Zealand and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre are delighted to announce a new collaboration to support Pasifika arts development and engagement in the Taranaki region.

Taranaki has a fast-growing Pacific community which has nearly doubled in population over the last decade.

Developed under Creative New Zealand’s Pacific Arts Strategy 2018 – 2023, the partnership initiative will provide a paid opportunity for a Pasifika creative or arts practitioner to undertake a two-month Pacific Co-ordinator Residency, based at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. The strategic initiative is aimed to strengthen meaningful relationships and networks between a major regional art gallery and venue with local Pacific artists and communities.

The successful candidate will be based at Gallery for a two-month period in 2021 and will receive a stipend to cover travel, materials, programme related costs and accommodation.

“We’re really excited to see this opportunity come to fruition. We know from our recent New Zealanders and the Arts research that Taranaki residents engage with the arts more than the national average, and Pasifika people feel more positive about the arts than ever before,” says Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright.

“It’s fantastic to be able to expand our work to reach our communities in the regions. We are thrilled that the New Plymouth District Council is also contributing toward some of the costs to ensure the Pacific Coordinator will have the support they need. We know the kaupapa of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiva people is meaningful for our Pasifika people, and be able to provide equity and access alongside the Gallery is a wonderful step forward.”

“The Co-ordinator will be a really important part of our team and the beginning of a new journey in connecting the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery more deeply with Pacific communities and artists this year,” says Director Zara Stanhope.

“Their work will lay important foundations for future public engagement. We can’t thank Creative New Zealand enough for supporting this new short-term role for the Gallery.”

Applications will be considered from Pacific practitioners in all art forms and art practices, including digital, art creation, design, curation, and public programming.

The Pacific Co-ordinator will support the development of public programs during 2021, and exhibitions and events of Pacific art forms in the GBAG from 2022 onwards.

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery will administer the residency and applications are now open for the inaugural pilot Pacific Co-ordinator Residency and closes on 23 August.

Apply here for the Pacific Public Programs Coordinator Residency.