Sean Rivera in Women Beware Women. Photo / Supplied
The Arts Village is excited to announce the resident artists for 2021-22 - Akoni Pakinga, Kahurangi Dewes-Green and Sean Rivera.
Akoni Pakinga is a Rotorua-based digital artist who has previously been interviewed on the Arts Village People podcast.
Akoni's art has a cartoon style, influenced by his childhood watching Saturday-morning television.
His project, What If ..., will focus on an alternate Aotearoa - what would life be like here without European colonisation?
At just 17, Kahurangi Dewes-Green is The Arts Village's youngest resident artist yet.
She is still a student at Rotorua Lakes High School and wants to focus on developing her understanding of Māori art.
Each week, she will focus on a particular aspect of mahi toi, working with the community to develop her own craft and others'.
Sean Dioneda Rivera is a Filipino-Pakeha New Zealander from Tokoroa, a fact intrinsically linked to his work.
A recent graduate of Toi Whakaari, Sean will develop (W)asian, a piece about being that ethnically ambiguous, lost, annoying mixed kid in a small town, with a huge dose of humour and satire mixed in.
Each artist will be providing 10 hours of low-cost workshops that expand on their work, and teach the community a little more about them and their craft.
Akoni's will teach the basics of iterative design, with workshops on shape, line, texture and more.
Each of Kahurangi's workshops will focus on an aspect of Māori toi/art, so the community can learn along with Kahurangi about mahi toi.
Sean's workshops will be for the performers in our community, and will teach you the three basics of playwriting and performance: devising, writing and game.
Workshops are yet to be announced, but keep an eye on Arts Village socials and website for more updates.
The Arts Village says all three are incredibly talented artists with captivating proposals, and it can't wait to see them move in and see the ideas come to fruition.
The Opening Showcase is on December 21, 5.30pm, with a chance to meet them properly and hear exactly what they'll be working on during their time at the Village.
The Arts Village thanks its funders Rotorua Trust and Creative Communities Scheme for making this possible.
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