Auckland Council Wants Artists for a Unique Regional Parks Residency

There are often moments in every creative's life where you just want to have some time to create. Time without the worry of paying the rent, without going to the 9-5 (including the draining crawl to said 9-5 on Auckland's kilometres-long parking lot/SH1), time away from rotating social media screens and emails.

The Auckland Council Regional Parks Artist in Residence program offers exactly that, with the chosen artist spending eight weeks living in either Duder Regional Park or Waharau Regional Park from mid-October to mid-December 2018. 'Outdoorsy' artists from across all media are encouraged to apply — choreographers, poets, installation artists, sculpture artists, composers, photographers, filmmakers, painters etc. The residency is also an opportunity to spend time developing skills within a different medium from your usual wheelhouse. "The residency is a unique experience that provides the artist with time and space away from their everyday lives to create or even explore a new discipline," says Councillor Alf Filipaina, Deputy Chair of Auckland Council's Environment and Community Committee.

The point of the residency is for artists to have some time to create new works which draw on the experience of staying in the park. The original work must then be shared with the public somehow — through a performance, exhibition, publication, a permanent feature in the park itself. The successful artists will receive free accommodation and a weekly fee for materials, tools and equipment. Dream gig.

Applications are open to professional artists working across all media. Proposals should focus on some unique aspect of the applicant's preferred residency site — be it physical, conceptual or an 'overlooked feature' within the park.

Artists must be New Zealand citizens or residents. Applications close at 5pm on Friday 16 February 2018. See here for more information.