Waikato creatives receive part-time salary to do their special artistic magic

Benny Marama, Emiko Sheehan, Fay Purdie-Nicholls, Ifat Vayner-Itzkovitch, Isaiah McIver, Margaret Feeney, Matt Sephton, Melanie Allison, Oriwa Morgan Ward and Sasha McGaughran were the 10 Waikato artists chosen for a multi-community artist-in-residence pilot programme.

Creative Waikato has just launched a new artist-in-residence pilot programme that will support 10 local artists as they practice their ‘creative magic’ for a year.

The programme, called Whiria te Tāngata (Weave the People together), pays the artists a part-time wage to deliver the fruits of their creative activities to their communities and engage with them in artistic ways.

The artists chosen for the pilot project are actor Benny Marama, multidisciplinary artist Emiko Sheehan, multimedia artist Fay Purdie-Nicholls, puppeteer Ifat Vayner-Itzkovitch, musician Isaiah McIver, artist Margaret Feeney, sound engineer Matt Sephton, playwright Melanie Allison, artist Oriwa Morgan Ward and video artist Sasha McGaughran.

Each creative will be paired with an experienced artist mentor and will also receive support from Whiria te Tāngata project lead Leafā Wilson.

Wilson says people were starting to notice that they feel better when they experience music, visual art, literature and the performing arts in their lives.

Creative Waikato CEO Dr Jeremy Mayall adds that the Whiria te Tāngata project follows similar ‘artist wage-type’ projects overseas.

“There has been an emergence of understanding about the vital role of arts, culture, and creativity as a fundamental part of being human, as well the broader value of having these things accessible for everyone to engage with,” says Mayall.

Whiria te Tāngata focuses on positive community growth, wellbeing and impact through creative practice. The artists have been chosen to weave creativity and wellbeing into the communities they are already activating across the Waikato.

Whiria Te Tāngata project lead Leafā Wilson.

Mayall says he is excited to be leading a new initiative that “really champions these insights through investing in creative enablers who are directly connected with people in their communities”.

The selected group of artists stood out for their already-shared vision, optimism and excitement for the scope of possibilities the programme will allow them to create in their communities.

Whiria te Tāngata was made possible due to the financial backing from the Manatū Taonga (Ministry of Culture and Heritage) innovation fund.

For more information about the artists, visit the Creative Waikato website.