Te Tuhi and Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) have selected Melanie Tangaere Baldwin (Ngāti Porou) as the recipient of a four-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.